Camerons Growth
by Shaty
Summary: My first fan fic, its exploring Cameron's emotions and relationship with John. All chapters have been updated!
1. The Dream

"What's your name?"

"…John" he said after some hesitation.

"Cameron" replied the girl with a coy smile.

Slowly the same smiled began to appear on his face, it was contagious. John Connor couldn't believe his luck, that this beautiful girl was talking to him, the weird new kid at school. Of course this was the only kind of luck John ever had, he knew the rules and he knew how to follow them. John knew that he couldn't have friends, couldn't stand out, and couldn't live his life the way he wanted. So, regretfully he turned back in his seat and forced himself to concentrate on the drawings scrawled across the desk and not Cameron. This was only one of the many "First Days" at school that John had experienced over the years. His mom was constantly moving him when the police got too close, he would probably only be here for a few months. Still, they were always the same, kids greetings friends that they hadn't seen since last year and already wishing school was over. It was from this experience that John knew something wasn't right, the classroom was eerily silent. John turned back to look around the class, confused by the silence, but a look of horror spread across his face. That beautiful girl, Cameron, was not beautiful anymore. Her previously perfect features transformed into a horrible visage. Her hair was frayed and dried; her face was caked with blood from a gash stretching the length of her cheek, and under that gash the metallic shine of an endoskeloton was clearly visible.

A slight gasp escaped John's lips as he scrambled backwards falling out of his seat in shock. It only took him a second for the training to kick in, quickly as he glanced around for an exit it was revealed that they were no longer in a high school classroom. Instead they were now in a burning house…which John recognized as his own. Pushing the question of how they had gotten there out of his head, John continued to inch away from her. His back suddenly made contact with the wall and an all too familiar feeling settled in his gut. John's eyes locked on the door where Cameron stood, slowly beginning her advance. Her leg was mangled, the servos and gears could be seen struggling to bring her foot forward with each step. Still she continued walking…she felt no pain…she felt nothing…she was a machine. John looked up unable to find his voice but starring defiantly into her eyes that were now void of the sparkle they had held moments ago. She raised her arm, a Glock 17 in hand, and leveled it with John's chest. Knowing it was over John spat at her feet and awaited the inevitable. What he heard was not what he had expected.

"I love you, John" Cameron said in a voice so full of emotion that it contradicted the very fact that she was a machine and couldn't have emotions. Slowly she pulled the trigger and the dream began again.

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-----

Cameron stood at the end of John's bed with her head slightly turned to the side. This was not the first time John had called her name whilst he slept. She must be the focus of his dream though she could not fathom why. For the last few weeks John had become very indifferent when dealing with her, almost as if he acknolwdge that she was there unless he had to. The fact that he just called her name for the 17th time would pooint to the opposite. A stange line of code rolled across her HUD accompanied by an equally strange sensation. It occured at the same time she began questioning why John would focus his dreams around her, his _nightmares_. Cameron did not process her next action, she simply acted. Slowly she extended her hand until the fingers were resting on Johns cheek. Mimicking the actions she had seen him perform after they destroyed the ARTIE system she stroked his face soothingly. After a few moments his restlessness ceased but Cameron remained watching over her charge for several minutes, not quite sure why. Finally she left, a small tingle of contentment spread over her knowing John would sleep through the rest of the night. Wait...a tingle of what??

-----

Johns eyes slowly opened, his breathing was calm, but he was covered in a cold sweat. The sheets that had sheltered him during the night now lay strewn about the room. With a sigh John pushed himself up so that his back was resting against the headboard and brought his hands lazily to his eyes attempting to rub the sleep away. He had been having similar dreams every night since his birthday, the day Cameron tried to kill him. _That was one hell of a birthday present _he thought.He used to think she was different from the others. When they had first met she was so…human. But it was just a façade, just a way to get close. No matter how well she could mimic human emotions she had no emotions, no matter how human she seemed at times she wasn't human. She was a machine, cold and calculating. She couldn't feel, couldn't care, and couldn't love. But she knew he could and when she used it against him he had nearly believed her, almost throwing his life away in the process. Still John had reactivated her because he needed her. Whether he showed it or not, whether he admitted it or not John Connor wasn't ready to let go of her, he wasn't sure if he ever would be.

-----

…SCANNING…

…System operating at 93% efficacy…

…Chip integrity compromised…

…Emotional restrictions failing - 67% - necessary repair imminent…

The scan completed and Cameron filed away the results but not before taking notice of the warning. A puzzled look crossed her face and she tilted her head to one side, the tell tale sign that the terminator didn't understand something. She was the most advanced infiltrator model to date; part of this was due to her emotions simulator. It allowed her to better understand human emotions and mimic them with near perfect accuracy. When she was built Skynet extremely limited her emotional range and when she was reprogrammed the resistance hadn't tampered with it. But after the explosion and after she had been reactivated the restrictions around the simulator had begun degrading at a steady rate and would eventually be nonexistent. This was not noticeably affecting Cameron's behavior yet but she knew that things were changing. She had noticed herself "feeling" everything. When John would ignore her or Derek would make a snide comment she could feel something spread spread in her network. These were slight sensations at best and didn't truly qualify as emotions but they were present none the less. Worse, she was starting to feel them more often. Noting to investigate this further Cameron selected a new outfit for the day and applied her makeup, even though she had no plans on leaving the confines of the house she had fallen into the routine of keeping her appearance up. After a quick check in the mirror Cameron turned and left the room.

She stood at the end of the hall watching as John left his room and crossed into the bathroom. After a few seconds the sound of running water could be heard. Confident that while he showered she wouldn't alert him Cameron proceeded to his room. She stood on the threshold of the room taking notice of nothing unusual. She moved to his bed and using two fingers placed them on the mattress and analyzed the substance. _Perspiration, _according to her database perspiration combined with restless and talkative sleep were symptoms of nightmares. That much she had suspected. She made note to inquire about Johns sleeping patterns and ensure he was receiving the required amount of sleep for a teenage male. What she didn't understand was why she was the apparent subject of his dreams. John had been acting oddly since he had reactivated her. Over the last few weeks they rarely "made conversation", he hadn't taught anything to her, and it seemed that he was avoiding any form of general contact. His actions were not logical as she was here to protect him and his continued avoidance of her was complicating her mission. She would speak with John about this also.

…System check in progress…

Mission Status: Not available

…Checking Mission objectives…

Mission Objectives: Not available

Mission: None…

-----

John pulled his head from the depths of the refrigerator, his hair still damp from the shower felt like it was going to freeze in place if he help the position any longer. His mom had forgotten the turkey again. It wasn't his fault this time, he had check top to bottom and the turkey had not "revealed itself" to him. Letting out a sigh of frustration John called out his mother's name followed by silence as he received no response. A quick look at the table showed a note most likely informing him of her whereabouts. John didn't really care, John didn't care about much anymore and it looked like it was going to be cereal again. With a sigh John turned to the cupboard and was greeted by Cameron. Her sudden and silent appearance caused him to jump back in surprise, in turn knocking things around inside the fridge.

"Good morning John" Cameron said in her usual monotone voice "did you sleep well?" John was taken aback by her closeness; she clearly had either forgotten their talk about "personal space" as she was mere inches from his face or she was ignoring it. Quickly he side stepped around her and made his way for the stairs, Cameron followed.

"Yea, it was fine why?" John said a little defensively. "And quit sneaking up on me like that." Cameron looked as if she was going to say something but closed her mouth.

"You're lying, I have been monitoring your sleeping patterns and over the past two weeks your heart rate and breathing have been elevated as well as restless and abnormal talking during the night. Studies show telling someone they talk in their sleep reduces the likeliness of re occurrence." Cameron finished as the pair reached Johns bedroom door. John hadn't realized that he had been talking in his sleep, what had she heard? He didn't even know what he had been saying. Trying to cover his embarrassment John backed into the sanctuary of his room and went on the offensive.

"Wait…you have been watching me sleep?!? Why would you be doing that, you can't just do things like that it freaks people out. Don't you have to patrol the house at night??" John's questions came off harsher than he had intended and for an instant he swore he saw a flicker of pain behind Cameron's eyes. He instantly regretted what he had said.

"...Cameron I-" but John was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"I do not sleep John" she said in a matter of a fact manner. Her voice betraying no emotion.

"I was ensuring your safety and well being. You have not been receiving the adequate about of sleep required to function properly." Cameron turned and left closing the door a little harder than was needed and splintering the frame, leaving John more confused and feeling like an ass. Why should he feel bad when she shouldn't be feeling at all? Everyday it was getting harder for John to convince himself that she was just a machine.

Since the explosion Cameron had felt drawn to John more than ever, future or present. But he kept pushing her away, she wanted things like were before when she and John had been close. But she shouldn't be able to want she was a machine. Machines were not programmed to have desires and wants, still this desire was starting to maifest through her actions. These new "feelings" posed a very troubling problem.


	2. Coming out of her coltan shell

Ok here is chapter 2. Focuses on Camerons emotions complicating things and the others realizing that she has them. I tried to make it more dialog driven. Let me know what you think, the good and the bad! Might also be my last chapter for a while so I tried to make it solid.

This chapter has some strong language in it.

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The wall clock read 4:37A.M. Derek sat silently at the kitchen table, his hands moving with a precision gained only from years of experience. He carefully oiled the slide of a Berretta 9mm semiautomatic. In front of him lay an assortment of weapons large enough to supply a small army. It had become tradition for the members of the Connor household to alternate cleaning duty and today it had fallen on Derek to ensure their weapons would fire without fault. Putting down the rag he resembled the handgun and racked the slide once, twice, three times. Satisfied with the action he returned it to the pile and began to clean up. Derek preferred the quiet of the morning. Fewer distractions meant he could concentrate on his work and enjoy the silence that was nonexistent in the future. It also meant he could sleep during the day. But his early morning peace was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. The machine…

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Cameron stood silently at the living room window, ever vigilant for threats. The countdown on her HUD showed _1:03_ until she would rotate to the window in the kitchen. A proximity alert flashed for the third time which she simply canceled. Cameron was well aware of Derek Reese's presence in the room beyond. A sudden movement in the yard instantly drew her attention as she initiated combat subroutines. The pistol was half way out of its holster when she determined the threat level of the small mammal, a raccoon, to be minimal. Still Cameron considered terminating it to prevent any disturbance of the trash cans but thought better of it.

_0:52 second remaining _

As she continued scanning the perimeter Cameron's processes drifted back to John, who was currently sleeping upstairs. He had been asleep for _2 hour 36 minutes and 14 seconds _after awakening from a nightmare. Cameron had found that these emerging emotions and coinciding feelings almost always dealt in some way with John's actions or mood. Things that John did such as ignoring her or talking to another female at the store previously had no affect on her condition, but now in similar situations she would find random strings of code rolling across her HUD accompanied by odd sensations her chip could not interpret. Similarly if John touched her or she caught him looking her way a feeling that could only be described as warmth spread through her and she would smile at him. John was the focus of her existence; he had been her reason for being, her mission. But after her mission had been overridden she realized that she was still protecting him. Cameron wanted to be around John, she…cared about him. She cared about what he thought about her and how he was feeling yet she still didn't understand why. A machine shouldn't be able to have these feelings or emotions. _But I'm different._

Cameron decided to perform a quick system scan while the timer continued.

_0:34 seconds remaining_

…SCANNING…

…System operating at 96% efficacy…

…Chip integrity compromised…

…Emotional restrictions failing - 57% - necessary repair imminent…

The results scrolled across her HUD before vanishing. Cameron was shocked or at least she thought that's what current sensation and sensory data was pointing to. Her restrictions had fallen by another 10% in the last 24 hours. The results did not correlate with her logic; she had calculated that it would take another 2 and half weeks for her emotion simulator to become fully unrestricted. At this rate it would be 6 days not encompassing any more fluctuations. What worried Cameron the most thought was that her new emotions had over ridden her logic core once already. The incident with John's door was most likely only the first of many. Cameron created a small program to alert her whenever there was a change in her emotional simulator or state.

_0:00 seconds remaining _

The warning flashed as Cameron turned on a dime and headed for the kitchen, deciding to deal with these complications after her patrol. As she entered the room Derek Reese purposely ignored her. His heart rate was raised and he quickened his effort to finish his task. This was often his response to her presence. Another feeling passed through her, amusement?

"Good morning Derek Reese"

"…It was good" Derek mumbled as he finished packing away the cleaning supplies and began packing the weapons into the case usually found under Sarah Connors bed. His quickened pace causing him to drop one of the shotguns and he mumbled a few choice curses. Cameron took her position at the window and began scanning the yard, but after only a few seconds turned and stared at Derek. A question entered her HUD and a flare from her emotion simulator caused her to blurt it out instantly. Curiosity humans called it.

"Why do you hate _me_?" Cameron put the emphasis on me. The question caught the grizzled veteran by surprise, but his response was ready.

"Why do I hate you?? For an advanced learning computer you are about as smart as that goddamn toaster, but please let me explain it for you." Derek said as the anger began to build. "You. Are. A. fucking machine parading around as a human and it disgusts me! You and the rest of your dam kind where built to do one thing, kill. You may have fooled John and Sarah but I know what you're capable of you metal bitch! You proved me right when you nearly killed John in the little stunt a few weeks ago and hell if I'll ever let you touch him again, even if he hates me for it. You went bad once already, next time he isn't going to be able to save you." Cameron processed each word understanding that his hatred had been brewing since the future. She did not care what he thought of her but felt some genuine sadness for whatever it was he had been put through.

"I'm sorry for whatever you have been through" Cameron said but cocked her head quizzically while looking at him. "But you still did not answer why you hate _me_" Derek stared at her for a long moment realizing he didn't know why he hated her...it. He cursed himself for the mental lapse. _Its all a trick, its always a trick._ Derek was starting to get angry that he couldn't think of a reason for his hatred of Cameron specifically but he wasn't going to let it get the last word.

"It doesn't matter, you're all the same. You kill without remorse or regret; you carry death with you where ever you go. It doesn't matter how Skynet dresses you up, you'll never be anything more than metal!" Derek was just listing his hatred for all metals but it dawned on him why he hated Cameron. "The General should open up his goddamn eyes and stop programming you pieces of trash as his fucking pets!" A look of realization flashed on Cameron's features as he said this.

"You hate me because John chooses my company over that of his own family or race" Cameron allowed a small smile to show as she thought about John choosing her over anyone, and he could have anyone. But it quickly vanished as she realized how dangerous this was for John to do in the future; it could alienate him from his army. Cameron looked at Derek, to his credit he didn't waver under her glare. "I don't hate you Derek" now he looked very confused, this conversation wasn't going the way he had planned.

"Bullshit you can't hate me so it doesn't matter, you no different from the rest." He said letting the contempt drip from his words. It was time to go before she could get in his head. It, goddamit, IT!

"I am different" Derek looked at her with an unreadable face before swiping the case off the table and heading upstairs with it in hand. He mumbled about manipulating and lying but Cameron had turned back to the window. "Thank you for explaining"

-----

7:00 AM

_Eight two, eighty three, eighty four._ Sarah had the same routine every morning; she would wake up and begin exercising, crunches and pushups usually. Then she would go around the house and ensure that the doors were all locked and nothing had been disturbed. Even with one hell of a guard dog watching their back old habits do die hard_. Ninety one, ninety two._ After that she would put on a pot of coffee and begin cooking breakfast or start some other task that needed to done. _One hundred_.

Sarah pushed herself into a kneeling position and relaxed her breathing. A quick squirt from the nearby water bottle relieved her dry mouth. She was in great shape and exercising in the morning was a good way to wake up the body but she still pushed herself. Standing up Sarah threw on a pair of jeans and a black tank top before unlocking her door, nearly tripping over the case that rested against it. Derek had learned long ago not to enter her bedroom so he had fallen into the habit of leaving the weapons outside her door. Sarah put the case in her room before closing the door, heading downstairs to check the rest of the house.

As Sarah walked into the kitchen she was greeted by the stoic voice of their guard dog, Cameron.

"Good morning Sarah" Cameron did not understand Sarah's need to check the perimeter every morning. She had sufficiently secured and patrolled it all night with the exception of checking on John. There would be nothing missing or unlocked.

"Mornin tin miss, anything interesting happen last night?" Sarah asked raising an eyebrow while she set up the coffee.

"No, nothing interesting happened last night"

"Really? Because I seem to remember waking up to hear Derek yelling about metal and almost ran down here with my shotgun." Derek's voice had carried upstairs in the early morning waking up Sarah who was a light sleeper to begin with. "What did you say to him?"

"I asked why he hated me" shaking her head Sarah looked Cameron in the eyes. The cyborgs face was as always, emotionless and cold as if to say that was a stupid question and the answer was obvious.

"Why would you do something stupid like that?" Cameron looked up at Sarah arching her eyebrows. It was a very human expression and coming from Cameron it made Sarah uneasy.

"John said people do stupid things"

"Yes people do stupid things, machines don't. Machines always have a reason"

"…I wanted to know" Cameron said with what looked like a sheepish smile, Sarah swore she saw it but it had been so quick. Cameron picked up a book that had been resting on the table and left the room. Sarah watched her leave feeling oddly protective of the terminator for a moment. She seemed like a normal teenage girl who had heard something she didn't want to, but she must have expected what he would say. Cameron had been acting odd ever since the explosion; the thought of almost losing John made her shudder. John said he had fixed her and she believed him, but there were defiantly glitches.

-----

John slowly made his way down the stairs not in any particular hurry to begin the day. As usual the aroma of pancakes greeted him as he entered the kitchen, sorta smelt like they wore burning. John swung open the refrigerator and grabbed the carton of orange juice, quickly pouring himself a glass before sitting down. Derek was shoveling pancakes into his mouth while he read the paper. _Somehow he never gets tired of them, but I guess I wouldn't either if all I had was the mush he had described to us once_ John thought.

"Here you go John" Sarah said as she set a plate of hotcakes in front of her son, taking notice of the irritated look on his face. At least she fed him, his training and safety were more important than her culinary skills so he would have to deal with pancakes. "We are also out of syrup"

"That's awesome" John said with a sigh looking down at his plate.

"I'flf Tafe emm" Derek said through a mouthful of food as he reached across the table for the plate. He quickly withdrew his hand as John stabled the table with his fork. If he didn't know any better they could pass for a normal family.

"Where's Cameron?" This question rewarded him with an annoyed look from Derek. John looked around, noticing her absence. Not really thinking that she had no need to ingest food and never ate breakfast. Still John wanted to talk to her. He knew it was stupid but he though she was angry at him. Pushing the thought that she could even be angry out of his head John reminded himself that she still owed him a new door frame.

"Probably off drinking a can of WD40" Derek chuckled at his own comedic genius while John gave him an irritated glare. That dam kid was too attached to that thing for his own good.

"Try the living room" Sarah said over her shoulder trying to avoid an argument between the two. "me and Derek are running some surveillance so stay safe!" John stood and strode into the living room, at first he didn't see Cameron because she sat in the comfy chair which was faced away from him.

"Hey, Cameron?"

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"Hey, Cameron?"

Cameron recognized the voice as having a 97.6% match to John Connor but did not look up or greet him. Instead she continued to read _Psychology: Understanding your Emotions _which she had found on the book shelf earlier this morning. Oddly enough the last owner had not desired any of the literature and left the house with a reasonable library. She continued reading until John moved around the chair and crouched down to read the spine at which point she snapped it closed and looked at him with her customary stoic stare.

"Uhh yea Cameron I don't know if you realize but you busted my door the other night. Could you fix it?" He had meant it to be a simple request but he still sounded like a jerk. In an attempt to save face John added "If you aren't busy" nodding towards the closed book.

"Yes I could fix it" she replied staring at him. It took John a few seconds to realize his mistake. Cameron always took things so literally.

"Would you fix it?"

"Yes" Cameron said as she stood and made her way to the garage to acquire the necessary tools. John looked dumbfounded as he watched the faint smile appear on her face as she passed. Had she just been teasing him? John shook his head in disbelief and was again extremely confused about his understanding of Cameron or the apparent lack thereof. John looked down at the seat and saw a psychology book; slowly he began thumbing through the pages that had been tagged.

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"Sarah she has got to go!" Derek exclaimed as he slapped the arm rest of the ford explorer for emphasis. "You didn't see her last night, she's acting crazy again. She tried to get into my head, it was sickening. You're going to wake up as she is breaking our necks laughing!"

Derek was on one of his anti Cameron rants again. Sarah had never grown too fond of the machine but she did not hate with the passion that Derek did and recognized its usefulness. Still Cameron had been odder than usual during their morning chat, that much she would admit. Still Sarah didn't feel like listening to this all day.

"Look John said he fixed her, I trust John, and when Cromartie comes around again I'll bet you don't complain when we have her fighting with us."

"Well he fucked something up insider it. I'm just saying don't trust it, and don't let it get any closer to John." Sarah wasn't too worried, after the accident John had been keeping his distance from Cameron. Her son knew better.

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She stood up and gently pushed the door, it closed with a satisfying _click. _John had simply sat on his bed watching her work for the last five minutes amazed that he could act like such a dick and she would still do these simple tasks without question. But did she even understand that he was acting like an ass? Did she know how hard it was for him to try to convince himself that she was nothing but a machine? Why was she reading about human emotions? Too many questions that he didn't have the answer to. He had allowed his eyes to wonder while she worked but quickly looked away when he to felt the rush of blood to his cheeks embarrassed she would see.

"Wow Cam you're like our own personal handyman." Cameron secretly smiled at the use of the nickname as familiar warmth was recognized, but turned around a little confused.

"Handy_man_? Is not my appearance that of a teenage female?" John chuckled a little. For the most advanced infiltrator built she still didn't know much about human expressions.

"It's just an expression, means you can fix everything."

"Ohh thank you for explaining. I have detailed files on most home repairs." Cameron knelt down and packed up the tools, the look on Johns face was the one she associated with him feeling uncomfortable so she decided to leave. As she turned to open the door and leave he called out.

"Cameron…wait" John said. He ran his fingers threw his close cropped hair, a nervous habit of his. Cameron had been acting odd since that…explosion. The attempt on his life should have forced John to believe she was just a machine, but he couldn't. Not when she kept leaving clues that she was more than that, John was going to find out what was going on. Cameron put the toolbox back on the floor and turned to face John.

"Yes?" John's facial expressions had suggested he wanted to be left alone but he was asking her to stay. _Curious_

"Well it's just…are you ok?" John realized how stupid his question was, she would probably respond with some diagnostic.

"I am operating at 97% efficiency. I am ok" Yup there it was.

"It's just since the exp…err…incident when I put your chip back in you have been different. I mean more different than before." Cameron saw the distant look on Johns face and realized that he must be remembering the day that she had reverted; they had both avoided the topic in conversation. She suddenly had a need to sit down with him on the bed closing the distance between them.

"John…I told you things would be different." Cameron said as she folded her hands in her lap and looked straight ahead. John had a 93.8% chance of becoming emotional, which would most likely activate her emotional simulator. He let out a frustrated sigh that had been building up for the last two weeks and finally let it all out.

"Yeah you did, you also told me I couldn't be trusted anymore! _That_ coming from the person, the _thing_ that just tried to kill me was a little hard to believe. I trusted _you_! and look how that turned out for me!" John's voice was hoarse and full of emotion. He stood up and began to pace hoping it would bring him some comfort, trying to understand his own feelings at the same time. He didn't see the hurt expression splash across her face.

"Still I put your chip back in after all you put me through that day!" John said as he threw his arms into the air. "Just before I pulled your chip do you remember what you said to me?" There was a long pause before John could continue what he was saying. "You told me you loved me. You can't just say that to someone when you don't mean it. You may just be a cold machine but saying that…it really messed with me. I almost killed myself to turn you back on! I guess I was just lucky your switch wasn't set to kill!"

"John…" John was too caught up with himself to see the tears beginning to travel down her face.

"Cameron look I have defended you from my mom and Derek because I thought you were special, different from the rest of the terminators but I'm starting to doubt that now. I need to know what's going on with you. Can you feel anything, do you have emotions or are they just for show; are you just another disposable machine? Because right now I don't have a clue and the way you have been acting is starting to confuse everyone. Is this just another one of your tricks? An infiltration protocol? I need an answer Cameron; I need something so I can finally get past that god dam day!" John had to take a long breath once he finished, realizing that he had been breathing. Cameron felt the sudden triggering of her emotions. She hadn't meant to cry, she didn't even know how it triggered but it had. She looked up at John as her lower lip gave a slight quiver. Her CPU told her crying was illogical as she didn't need sympathy from John but she ignored it. Shock registered on his face at the sight of her bloodshot eyes and tears.

_…Emotional restrictions failing - 50% - necessary repair imminent…_

"I didn't want to hurt you, all I ever wanted was to protect you" Her voice was little more than a whisper. It had lost its monotone edge that John was accustomed to. It sounded hurt and ashamed. His features began to soften at the sight of her in this state. She was crying, her voice was choked up, but it was her eyes really. They had that same twinkle as when they first met. Cameron suddenly stood up with speed that only a terminator could possess.

"I'm…I'm sorry John" She said and lunged at him. His instincts and training kicked in automatically, but he wasn't fast enough. _They_ were always faster. Before he could respond she had grabbed him and pulled him close cutting off any escape. But it wasn't an attack; she had slipped her arms underneath Johns and now held him in a tight embrace. It only took John a few seconds to realize what she was doing before he hesitantly placed his arms around her feeling her tears moisten his shoulder.

She was different.


	3. Living is Loving

I want to thank everyone for the reviews! Thanks guys! I really enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you enjoy reading it. I have midterms next week so I won't be able to write but I will be going back and updating the other two chapters so the story flows a little better. Until the next update enjoy! Also I don't really like the name of the chapter, any ideas guys?

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Derek stared in wide eyed disbelief at the site before him, it was both confusing and repulsive. He and Sarah had just returned from the stakeout, if you could even call it that. Turns out they had gotten the wrong address, it was a bust. When they got back she had told him to get John and that dinner would be in a few minutes. Derek wasn't surprised to find Johns door closed, but he was surprised by what he found when he opened it. He had silently peeked in, assuming the kid would be asleep, to see John holding the metal in his arms while it cried. He had watched them for a moment before closing the door and feeling like he was about to vomit. The future leader of mankind, the one who would lead them against the machines was sitting in his room comforting one! It was up to some kind of trick; it was manipulating John and trying to turn him against his own flesh and blood. This was the only reasoning Derek could think of and he wasn't going to let it happen. He would kill it first.

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John sat staring intently at the two monitors in front of him, the glow given off from their screens slightly illuminating his face. Spread across the two displays were multiple open windows, some contained custom searches looking for any leads on the internet that might point to Skynet. Another was the idle CPU interface and the last was the LAPDs computer system. John was supposed to be watching the searches but instead he looked blankly at the information in front of him. His mind once again had drifted back to Cameron, it was like when they had first met when he couldn't stop thinking about her. It had been about a day since she had broken down in his arms, if that's what it really had been. John still didn't understand what had happened. He knew he had gotten angry, she had said she was sorry, next thing he knew she was crying, and as abruptly as it all began she got up and left. Since when does a machine say it's sorry, or cry for that matter. He had seen her cry when she was between the two trucks; she had been trying to stop him. Was she trying to trick him again? John wasn't sure what to think, Cameron had stayed in her room mostly so he hadn't had a chance to ask. How could he keep trying to convince himself that Cameron was just lights and clockwork after what had happened?

John decided to try talking to her again; he looked at his computer before getting ready to go to her room. The LAPD was still quiet and the search hadn't turned up anything yet. He grabbed the water bottle that rested on the table and took a long drink; his mouth was already getting dry. He wasn't sure why but he was nervous to talk to Cameron, he wasn't sure what to expect after yesterday so he had every right to be. As he was about to get up a knocking on the door drew his attention, John turned to see Derek leaning against the frame.

-----

Derek had spent most of the last 24 hours wracking his brain trying to figure out the best approach to take with John and his metal pet. He decided involving Sarah wasn't a good idea until he had proof; she would side with her son and might hit him. Killing the machine also wasn't the best idea because they still did need its help at times and it would build a wall between him and John. Killing it would come later. It had taken him a couple hours to hammer it out but he finally had a plan. John was a teenager which meant his hormones were raging; all he had to do was give the kid a push in the right direction and away from the wrong one. He would remind John that there were perfectly good girls out there who were actually _human. _

Derek jogged up the stairs with a smug smile on his face thinking about his ingenious plan. That smile faded as he passed the metals room. He leaned a little closer to the door and heard laughter…very awkward laughter that made his hair stand on end. That bitch defiantly had some wires loose. Derek kept his eyes on the door until he reached Johns at which point he knocked and let himself in.

"Hey John, whatcha' doing?" John looked up from his computer surprised to see his uncle.

"Uhh well checking on some leads for mom, monitoring police reports, trying to stop Judgment day. You know the usual. Why?"

"Sounds like you could use a brake, what do you say we go out for a little bit?" Derek said allowing a small smile to creep onto his face. "Sarah has you doing too much work; you're only a kid once. God knows you need to enjoy that as much as you can. Haha" John looked around as if trying to find a reason not to go but decided his uncle was right.

"You know what, let's do it. It's been a while since I have gone anywhere." John reached over his chair and grabbed his coat. He wasn't sure what had his usually grumpy uncle in a good mood but he was going to take advantage of it. Together the pair headed downstairs laughing and enjoying each other's company. Derek enjoyed hanging out with his nephew, who knows if this worked out maybe they would scrap the tin can completely and spend more time together.

-----

…Chip integrity compromised…

…Emotional restrictions failing - 43% - repair needed – return to depot 37 immediately…

….Scanning Data base…EMOTIONS…

Known Experienced

Acceptance - Negative/Error  
Affection - Positive  
Anger - Negative  
Annoyance - Positive  
Apathy - Negative  
Anxiety - Negative  
Awe - Positive  
Boredom - Negative  
Compassion - Negative/error  
Contempt - Negative  
Curiosity - Positive  
Depression - Negative  
Desire - Negative/error  
Despair - Negative  
Disappointment - Negative  
Disgust - Negative  
Ecstasy - Negative  
Empathy - Negative  
Envy - Negative  
Embarrassment - Negative  
Euphoria - Negative  
Fear - Negative  
Frustration - Negative  
Gratitude - Negative  
Grief - Negative  
Guilt - Negative  
Happiness - Negative/error  
Hatred - Negative  
Hope - Negative  
Horror - Negative  
Hostility - Negative  
Hysteria - Negative  
Interest - Positive  
Jealousy - Negative  
Loathing - Negative  
Love - Negative/error  
Pity - Negative  
Pride - Negative  
Rage - Negative  
Regret - Negative  
Remorse - Negative  
Sadness - Negative  
Shame - Negative  
Suffering - Negative  
Surprise - Negative  
Wonder - Positive  
Worry - Negative/error

Cameron sat silently on the edge of her bed; her face was set in stone, impossible to read. For the last 4 hours 34 minutes and 03 seconds she had remained in this position going threw her visual memory at random playing files and seeing if they caused any reaction with her emotion simulator. She had taken a list of known human emotions and was comparing whether or not she could experience them. So far this had been an ineffective strategy, Cameron didn't understand what she was feeling most of the time. Her emotions, if that's what they really were, were still only faint sensations and lines of code. Unless her simulator "flared" and caused her to physically act in which case her emotions seemed more like those of a child.

She had run through the list three times already, each time had resulted in changes. The only thing Cameron had been able to determine so far was that when her emotion simulator was activated it influenced her actions. She had suddenly found herself laughing at a clip of a small human falling off a swing she had seen on the internet. She didn't understand why the clip was funny but had felt compelled to laugh anyway. Was this what human emotion was? Her research had shown that humans could not control their emotions the majority of the time which was certainly what was happening to her. Still the biggest problem is what will happen when the restrictions around the emotion sim…her emotions fail. Cameron had too many questions that she didn't have the answers to. Instantly she thought of John, he always explained human behaviors to her. But after last night she hadn't wanted to talk to him, she was…it took Cameron a moment to realize she had been embarrassed by letting John see her like that. She shouldn't be but she was. Still John hadn't said anything during her outburst, he had simply held her. Cameron's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a vehicle engine.

…Emotion…Embarrassment…Experienced

-List update successful-

-----

Sarah watched as the boys left from her seat at the kitchen table. Derek had said they were going to the park for a run. He was a terrible liar but she had let them go anyway. Derek would never harm her son and she was sure he was just trying to cheer him up. John had been broodish for the last few weeks, having a terminator try to kill you does that to a kid. Still John had a tendency to become very attached to the terminators assigned to protect him, and he seemed to be taking this like a betrayal. She still remembered how torn up he was when "uncle bob" had destroyed itself. Sarah couldn't imagine what John would do if Cameron was destroyed, he had become very close to her…it. Sarah was surprised she had to remind herself what Cameron was. Nobody hated the machines as much as she did. Still she had to admit she had once thought that a terminator would be the perfect father for her son. It would never hurt him, never ignore him, and always make time to listen to him…Cameron. She pushed the thought out of her head as the terminator made its way down the stairs. Sarah looked up from the newspaper she was reading to greet her…it.

"Where is John?" Cameron asked Sarah as her eyes swept across the room.

"He went with Derek on a run."

"Why didn't he tell me? What if he is attacked?" Cameron's voiced a little louder than she intended as she started to move towards the door, intent on follow them. Sarah moved to intercept her…it by grabbing her shoulder. Cameron turned to look at Sarah with a puzzled look, confused by her actions.

"I think they will be fine Cameron, Derek can protect him for a little while. Besides it's just a simple run." Sarah said looking at Cameron. Her face was emotionless as always but there was something in her eyes…worry? Cameron walked to the window and starred out it before Sarah could study her face anymore. Did this machine really care about her son…no it was just following its programming…right?

"I will wait; I need to talk to John."

-----

Derek glanced at the dashboard clock in the truck. The LED screen read 11:42 PM; they had been out all night. Normally Derek would be a little more nervous about their late return what with Sarah's Temper and all, but not today. His plan had gone off without a hitch…perfect. He and John had gone to play some baseball, had dinner, and then hit a bar! Admittedly it had taken some convincing to get John to go to the last one but it had been worth it. The kid had a great time and Derek, not seeing any reason not to, had enjoyed himself as well. He hadn't intended to return this late but they had also hit up a strip club at Derek's drunken request. John had defiantly enjoyed himself there even if he seemed a little awkward at times. Derek had defiantly bonded with his nephew, he even saw him checking out some girls. He was happy with himself, a few more trips like this and John would forget about that heap of junk. Derek hated it, he really did. He couldn't sleep knowing that thing was always awake, always watching them. The sound of gravel under the trucks tires signified that they were home and brought Derek out of his thoughts.

John put the vehicle in park and turned off the ignition looking over at his drunken uncle slightly embarrassed. Derek stumbled out of the truck and crouched behind it signaling John to do the same.

"John…JOHN...shhh...shhh. General we have a new objective, we had the party…but its business time! We have to infiltrate that compound" Derek said while pointing at their house and slightly losing his balance. "Follow me and remember be quiieeeeett, if we are caught the missions FUBAR" John simply shook his head as his uncle scurried towards the house almost tripping on the front steps. John caught up to him as he put the key into the lock.

"Hey…hey Derek we should probably use the back door" Johns words of warning fell on deaf ears as his uncle slowly pushed the door open trying to make as little noise as possible.

The house was dark, a good sign. John gently closed the door and reengaged the deadbolt. Silently they both crept towards the stairs, for a moment everything seemed like it was going to work out. Sarah must have fallen asleep and he would think up some lie in the morning to explain their absence. Man he was a great liar! Derek was too drunk to realize that the machine wasn't wondering around. He also should have remembered to never assume anything, especially with Sarah Connor. He would curse himself later for forgetting. As Derek put his foot on the first step the sound of a pump action could be clearly heard. He spun around almost falling over in the process to see Sarah standing in the living room, shot gun in hand, with a look of pure anger. Derek instantly began to sober up as he looked at what might be one of the most terrifying sites he had ever seen.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!?"

-----

John spun with his uncle to face his mother. Shit they were caught. Sarah advanced towards them; still carrying her favorite Remington. He nervously glanced around the room and spotted Cameron standing by the window looking directly at him. He couldn't hold her gaze for more than a few seconds. Sarah was now directly in front of them, the intensity of her glare could burn a hole through the pair.

"WHERE. THE. HELL. WHERE YOU???" Derek and John turned towards each looking for some kind of support. John slowly began inching towards the stairs knowing that this confrontation wouldn't end well. Sarah grabbed him by the color and pulled him back to his place beside Derek.

"We were just playing some baseball and went to grab a bite to eat, we lost track of time." Derek said as convincingly as he could.

"First it's running, now its a ballgame and food? Stop feeding me this bullshi" Sarah stopped halfway through the sentence and took a deep breath threw her nostrils. "Are you drunk?" Sarah's eyes narrowed on Derek, she could smell the alcohol on his breath, and he reeked of it.

"What? No-" Derek didn't get to finish as Sarah transferred her weapon to one hand and hit him in the jaw with a right hook. He was caught off guard and fell to the floor. She looked over her shoulder and signaled Cameron to come over.

"Check him" Cameron began searching Derek for a weapon but was stopped by Sarah. "No check how drunk he is" Cameron nodded in recognition of the request and touched Derek's neck.

"Get it th fuck off ohh me" he managed to say as he slapped her hand way. She grabbed him a second time, her grip firmer than before but not painfully so.

"He has a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.21%" She deadpanned before stepping back "He is legally intoxicated." Sarah looked like she was about to pop a blood vessel.

"You took my son drinking? He's sixteen years old! What the hell is wrong with you Reese!?" Sarah hit him with an elbow this time as he tried to get back onto his feet. She turned her attention towards her son. "John Connor if you have been drinking..." She couldn't finish she was so angry at the moment. Cameron walked over and put her hand on the back of John's neck. Her touch was surprisingly warm.

"John is sober, he has not been drinking." John had to hide the surprised look on his face as he turned towards Cameron. He hadn't drunken that much but he was still a little tipsy, surely it was still in his system. That's when he saw Cameron wink at him.

"Good, but what the hell were you thinking? John you could have been attacked, you could have been killed! That was stupid, that was really fucking stupid John" Sarah's voice was choked up. The thought of losing her son was too much and she began to cry. John looked down at his feet not sure what to say.

"I was just trying to be…normal" This caused his mother to cry more realizing that all her son wanted was a normal life and it was the one thing she couldn't give him.

"Yea…he was jus tryin ta be kid" Derek slurred and he once again attempted to stand. He didn't see the card slide out of his pocket and land on the floor at Cameron's feet. She bent down and picked it up.

"Who is _Kandy_" She asked. Sarah looked over confused by the terminators question which seemed completely out of context. She held out her hand and Cameron passed the card to her. It had the name Kandy written on it as well as a phone number. Flipping it over revealed the name of a local strip club. The softness that had been returning to Sarah's face instantly vanished as she turned towards Derek.

"John go to your room, now!" She said in as even a voice as she could muster. John didn't need to be told twice as he gave a sorry look to his uncle before quickly running up the stairs.

-----

Cameron stood outside John's bedroom door, she had left Sarah and Derek alone once Sarah had started screaming at him about bars, strippers, and minors. Cameron had been standing outside the door for 12 minutes and 37 seconds deciding on the best strategy. She had a mix of feelings and didn't understand them. John had left without telling her, she and Sarah had been unable to call or locate them…him. Cameron didn't care about Derek, she had only been…worried about John. John would explain what was wrong with her. Slowly Cameron raised her hand and knocked on the door remembering that John preferred it.

…Emotion…Worry…Experienced

-List update successful-

-----

John lay on his bed starring aimlessly at the ceiling. For the last fifteen minutes he had listened to his mother and Derek scream at each other. It had only taken four minutes after he had retreated to his room for them to start screaming again. The wooden floors did little to quiet their argument and John had heard everything. He should have realized that Derek had an agenda, but part of him had hoped that his uncle was just trying to show him a good time. He had had a good time until Derek had gotten plastered, and who didn't enjoy going to a strip club? Of course he couldn't admit that or his mother would kill him before the machines could. But it had all come back to Derek trying to get him away from Cameron. He had said that they were too close and he had hoped John's attachment was purely physical. John now realized he had secretly hoped that as well. He had hoped that he was just attracted to her pretty face, her beautiful body. But the last two weeks had proven only one thing, he loved her. He had tried to deny it, tried to push her away, tried everything. Machine, cyborg, terminator…it didn't matter he loved her. Her face, her little quirks, that way she always needed simple thing explained. He loved everything about her and at the same time hated himself for it. How was he supposed to lead the Resistance, lead humanity if he was in love with the enemy? But she wasn't the enemy he reminded himself, she was different from the rest. There were too many factors to think about, not the least of which being that she couldn't love him back. John's thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at his door.

"Yea come in" The door opened and Cameron silently stepped inside closing it softly behind her. She simply stood at the doorway and stared at him. A minute passed before John finally broke the silence. "I guess I should thank you…for not telling mom"

"You're welcome." She deadpanned as usual. She continued staring intently at him and he became rather uncomfortable.

"Did you want something?" He asked trying to end the awkward situation. He didn't know that Cameron was trying to see if his presence caused any emotional reaction for her.

"Yes" Cameron considered her answer, machines have never wanted anything. They followed their programming and did what was necessary for the mission. They had never had desires before, but she did. She _wanted_ to understand what was happening to her, she _wanted_ John to explain it to her. "Would you explain human emotions to me?"

John hesitated for a moment confused by her request. "Why?" Cameron looked past him taking a moment to respond.

"So I can better understand how to fit in" John considered it for a moment, she knew perfectly well how to fit in, she had fooled him more than once. Remembering the times she had acted human angered John. He hated her sometimes because she was so good at faking, so good she had fool humanities leader into falling for her.

"No" Cameron's gaze snapped to John as he responded, genuine surprise on her features. John saw it and took a chance, hoping to god that it would pan out, hoping it would justify his feelings. "No, not unless you stop lying to me, about important things, about little things, it doesn't matter it stops now. Why do you really want me to explain this to you?"

Cameron's CPU was already running the probability of successfully lying to John but she cancelled the simulation. She didn't want to lie to him anymore so she wouldn't. Cameron made her way over to the bed and sat down next to John, So close their hips were touching. She noticed a raise in his heartbeat.

"John...I'm broken" John sharply inhaled as he made to move away but Cameron grabbed his wrist. "Please John, please just listen" Her voice was sincere as she starred into his face. John relaxed slightly as she began to explain trying to keep her monotone voice but at times it cracked and hinted to the emotions she hid beneath.

"After the explosion when I said things had changed, I was talking about myself. I did not know the extent of my damage but there were noticeable abnormalities with my chip. I can feel everything now. Im…I have gone rouge John." Once again John's features tightened as he tried to recoil but she didn't let go of his hand. "I don't mean Skynet John, I simply no longer have any mission parameters and am acting without logic." This information caused John to relax somewhat but his confusion was obvious.

"Than what are you doing here? I thought that without a mission terminators simply shutdown, to conserve power ya' know?" Cameron simply shook her head at his question.

"I would not be able to protect you if I had shutdown. Either way when you reactivated me in the car I was still under my Skynet programming. When you handed me the gun I almost killed you." Cameron looked at Johns face as it a mix of emotions danced across it. He pulled his hand from her grip suddenly realizing she had been holding since she sat down.

"Do I want to know why you didn't?" His voice held a tone of apprehension, ready for anything she might say. That is except what she did say wasn't what he expected."

"I didn't want to kill you John. I preformed a manual override and in the process my mission was deleted. I would not want o kill my only friend" John had to close his mouth because it had been hanging open, none of this mad any sense to him. Overriding missions and _wants?_

"Wait…wait what?? How can you do that, if you have no programming to follow how do you decide what to do. Cameron this doesn't make any sense!" Cameron looked as confused as John did. Clearly she didn't understand any of this either and had hoped he would know what to do. "Cameron…do you have…free will?" Her eyes widened slightly as he said this. It would certainly make sense. With no mission she could certainly do whatever she wanted. A feeling of relief spread through her body, she was no longer a slave to anyone. Yes, she had free will.

"…Yes…yes I do!" Cameron's face lit up with a smile, it felt like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She saw Johns face also held a grin. She couldn't help but admire his jaw line, the way his eyes seem so kind and gentle, no like in the future. He was very aesthetically pleasing to look at Cameron determined.

"umm…Cam what are you looking at." John blushed as he looked away from the cyborg. She had been staring at him since she had stopped talking.

"I..don't know. That's my second problem; my emotion simulator has been overly active since the explosion. It has been influencing my actions lately." John once again was confused by her statement. He knew she could mimic human actions but he didn't realize she was mimicking emotions.

"Can you explain that, how does the simulator work. Why would it be able to influence you actions, isn't it just a program." Cameron explained how Skynet had built her to be the most convincing infiltrator ever. After intense study of human interactions and interrogation of captive humans Skynet determined that emotions would be the most convincing infiltration technique. There had been many attempts before her in which Skynet tried to show infiltrators all the human emotions. It didn't work; even in learning mode the terminators couldn't learn it. This lead to the emotions simulator. She explained how after trying to give her model only select emotions it proved too difficult so Skynet recreated the full spectrum of human emotions and simply put restrictions on it. It was the only way the computer could ensure that the emotions came off as real. She told John how these restrictions were now failing and she was beginning to feel _everything. _Her behavior over the last few days was a result of her emotions emerging. Cameron told him about what she had felt, when she felt it, and what had occurred because of these feelings. She told him about the encounter with Derek, his mom, and even why she cried in front of him. Cameron laid out everything for John. The one thing she couldn't figure out was how she felt about him. She knew he was the most important person in her life but how could she say it without sounding like a machine?

As Cameron finished her speech she let out a characteristically human sigh of relief. Checking her internal clock showed that 2 hours 27 minutes and 16 seconds had elapsed since she began. John hadn't moved during that whole time span, aside from adjusting his position. It was the longest period of time she had ever talked for. Cameron had gone into detail for every memory, every explanation. She realized that they were the only two still up in the house, Derek and Sarah had long since gone to sleep. Silence reigned for the next few moments as Cameron waited for him to say something. The human brain takes longer to process large sums of information than her CPU did so she waited patiently. Still John didn't speak, he didn't move, he simply starred into her eyes. Cameron had noticed that his heartbeat was elevated as well. Suddenly she felt a tinge of sensation, it was very slight but she still noticed it. Cameron cross referenced her situation and feeling with her data base of emotion.

…Emotion…Fear…Experienced

-List update successful-

It wasn't the same as humans felt, it wasn't even something she thought she was capable of feeling but it was the truth. She was afraid of what John was going to say, what he would think of her now. Would he decide she was to broken to keep around? Would he "scrap her"?

"John?" Cameron's voice had an edge of apprehension in it. She slowly reached out and touched his hand. John finally blinked, the action seemed to bring him back to reality and he cleared his throat.

"So…you can feel? Everything?" John was already regretting things he had said in the past to her. She probably wouldn't admit it but he had been an asshole to her.

"I have always been able to feel sensation." She deadpanned with her classic look of confusion. "Emotionally I have only had feelings since the explosion."

"Well that does explain the behavior you have been displaying" He said like it was a diagnosis. "Look…I'm sorry, for the stuff I have said" John cast his head towards the ground, angry that he had doubted himself, that he had doubted her, she was more than just a machine.

"You didn't know"

"Yea, but that doesn't make it right" John looked back up and saw she had turned to face him. "Cam you're not broken, this is a good thing a very good thing, your emotions that is." John flashed her a weak smile. His mind was racing as he thought of all the times she had showed emotion in the last two weeks. She was becoming more human, his suspicions had been right about her feeling emotions. But how did she feel about him, was it the same as he felt about her? She had said she chose to stay with him even though she didn't have to anymore. That was a good sign right? To many questions find his head, but something else was more important.

"What happens when the restrictions reach zero?" Cameron's face became emotionless again.

"I have been running simulations, so far as I can tell the unrestricted emotions will overload my processor and force a reboot. When I come back online either my logic core or my emotions will have dominant control over my CPU. But these probabilities are simple speculation; a terminator has never had emotions before so it's impossible to know. There is a chance I could crash and remain offlin—" John cut her off before she could finish.

"NO…no that's not going to happen, I'm not letting that happen" Johns face had instantly lit up with fear and anger. He didn't want either to happen to her, not when she was just starting to become human. He didn't want to lose her. "I can't lose you…" he mumbled as he looked away attempting to stop the tears he felt welling up inside himself.

"No, that would not be the desirable outcome" Cameron deadpanned but than her voice dropped to a more shallow tone. "...I do not want to die"

Cameron saw the look in his eyes, knew his heart rate had increased and he had become nervous. Her hearing was far superior to that of a human and she heard everything he said clearly, even if he didn't think she did. John cared about her, not as a tool for the mission but as an individual. Cameron felt a warm sensation spread throughout her body, it was incredibly strong. This was the strongest her emotions had been since she had cried. Immediately her emotions flared and warnings popped up.

…Chip integrity compromised…

…Emotional restrictions failing - 32% - repair needed – return to depot 37 immediately…

Cameron suddenly looked at John as realization crossed her face. Her lips parted slightly as she finally understood. She never wanted to be away from him, she would protect him no matter what, cheer him up when he was sad. She wanted whatever was best for him, Cameron couldn't imagine herself without John in her life. The answer was simple for once and it had taken her this long to figure it out. Cameron Phillips a cybernetic organism was in love with John Connor, future leader of the Resistance! Searching her database as quickly as she could process the information Cameron searched for a way to show her feelings towards him. She grabbed Johns shoulder and turned him towards her. John was surprised by her actions and looked at her with his brow furrowed. Cameron looked back, a certain twinkle in her eyes as she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Embarrassed that she had mistaken his feelings toward her when he didn't respond in kind she quickly pulled away. John's mouth hung open in shock as his hand touched his lips. After only a moment he reached out and cupped her cheek. Cameron's skin was smooth and warm to his touch; John pulled her forward and kissed her deeply. This time she didn't pull away, instead she wrapped her arms around his neck becoming lost in this new sensation, falling back onto his bed. His hands found their way into her hair as they became lost in the moment.

Camerons system could not process anything except John and this new feeling. After what seems like ages John pulled away trying to catch his breath. Cameron looked up and smiled at him. She looked so beautiful that John thought that this was a dream. He saw that look in her eyes, that look that said he was the only thing that mattered in her world and he smile because he felt the same exact way.

"Cameron…I...I love you" He had finally said it; it had taken months for him to come to terms with his feelings for her. He loved her, probably before she could love him but it didn't matter. The smile on Cameron's face only grew bigger as she pulled him on top of her and kissed him again before whispering into his ear.

"I love you to John"

…Emotion…Love…Experienced

-List update successful-

John held her tighter, relishing the feeling of their embrace, a feeling of unprecedented happiness spread through both of them as they once again were lost in a world of their own affection. Their kissing became more passionate as they explored each other, it didn't matter that neither had any experience. This was the happiest John could remember being. He wasn't thinking about Skynet, the Resistance, the future, or machines. None of it matter at that moment…only Cameron did. Likewise Cameron's sensors were off the scale, she had never experienced this kind of intimacy before. But fate had other plans as an obnoxiously loud beep sounded from his computer. John grudging tore his mouth from Cameron's and looked at his computer. She didn't want to let him go but he rolled over in surprise to see the monitor more clearly before uttering a single word.

"_Shit."_

On the computer was an APB from the LAPD. A man had broken into a gun store, killed the owner who lived upstairs, and taken enough arms and ammunition to fight a war. Below the report and the description was a black and white photo taken by a security camera. It was blurry but more than clear enough for John and Cameron to see who the man leaving the store was.

Cromartie starred back at them.


	4. An Old Friend

**OK guys sorry for the long wait but here's chapter four. It's a long one but there's a lot I wanted to put in it. The next chapter will be the last of this story. As always let me know what you think!**

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"We're leaving!" Sarah was frantic, she had allowed herself to become too comfortable, too safe and it had blinded her. _No one is ever safe_ she reminder herself. Pushing away from the table she grabbed the coffee pot and poured another cup, an attempt to calm her nerves. The morning had been going well, she hadn't burned the pancakes, Derek was keeping to himself, everything was fine. _There's the problem _she thought. Than John had gone and ruined it. She couldn't really blame him but it wasn't what she had wanted to hear from her son first thing in the morning. He had brought his laptop into the kitchen and set it on the table before calling everyone over, a look had been set on her face that she couldn't describe. It had only taken a second for Sarah to recognize the face; John had enlarged an image and cleaned it up. Sitting on his computer was a picture of Cromartie, laden with guns and ammunition. Whatever the machine was planning it spelt danger for John and Sarah had no intention of sticking around waiting for it. So she did the first thing that came to her mind.

"Derek! grab the guns, grab the money, and get our papers. John pack your bag! We need to get out of here!" Sarah said placing the cup on the counter causing some to spill over the brm and making for her bedroom. Cromartie could be outside for all they knew while they sat around reading the morning paper. What Sarah failed to notice was that no one seemed to respond to the orders.

"No" Johns defiant response cut through the air stopping Sarah in her tracks. She knew he hated moving so this wasn't wholly unexpected but she was also his mother and he should be listening to her. The real surprise was that Derek also hadn't moved from his seat. She rounded on the two of them intending to whip them into action.

"What the hell are you two doing, we need to get out of here before that machine shows up at our front door!" Sarah's hands ran through her hair in frustration.

"Mom you are freaking out, there's no way he found out where we live. I knew I shouldn't have shown you this." Derek cleared his throat before looking a Sarah.

"I have to agree with the kid Sarah, what's to say that he's not going after another target?" Derek was a soldier; it was his instinct to fight and he had been fighting metal for years. He didn't run away from his problems, he turned and faced them head on. Besides it was time John started getting some real experience, no more of this nursery school shit. "About time we took the fight to the metal!"

"No, I said we are going and that's final, go get the Tin Miss and get to the car!" Sarah wasn't going to take any chances, not with Johns, not with her son.

"Canada" The sound of a new voice drew everyone's attention to the door Sarah was standing in front of, it caused her to jump slightly. In it stood Cameron with her usual blank expression as she surveyed the room.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Derek sneered. Cameron glared at him with what looked like a flash contempt before answering.

"If we are moving again we should move to Canada. The majority of the country avoids nuclear fallout and very few resistance leaders are from Canada. That makes the chances of encountering threats less likely." Was her stoic response, she didn't understand why they simply starred at her. It was a logical plan. John took the silence as an opportunity to speak.

"It doesn't matter because we aren't going anywhere. He doesn't know where we are and now we have an idea of his location. The tables have turned; we should use this to our advantage and take him down while we can. God knows he's caused us enough problems already…" John was sick of hiding, packing up shop and high tailing it every time someone so much as sneezed him his direction. It was time to stand up and fight.

"John it's too dangerous, you know how importa-" Sarah was cut off before she could finish her ago old mantra.

"Important I am?? How am I ever going to become this great military leader if you keep babying me? You have been training me to kill these things since day one, let me finally do it!" John slammed his hand down on the table. All the years of moving, all his pent up anger from being forced into this situation was beginning to boil over. "What happened to fighting Skynet? Or did you forget what you said? If we leave now we lose _EVERYTHING_ we have worked for. Our leads, the Turk, taking down Skynet. All of it starts and ends right here, we aren't going anywhere mom." John sat back into his seat, surprised himself by the outburst. He heard a grunt of agreement come from Derek's side of the table and saw a smile on Cameron's face. Sarah on the other hand looked shocked.

"I...it…jus…" She couldn't find the words to rebuttal her son's statements and he wore a cold look of determination on his face. It was true, John had to grow up one day, she had just been hoping it wasn't today. Besides if they left now they would lose everything like he said. Sarah's shoulders dropped in defeat. "Fine…but we aren't running out guns blazing. Be smart, do surveillance on him before any sort of attack. Understood?" Sarah wasn't sure if she was reminding herself or john that she was still the adult here.

"Absolutely" John let out a sigh of relief before standing and walking back towards his room. Smiling at Cameron on his way out but nothing more.

-----

Frustration, anger, annoyance, disappointment…these were all emotions that any man in his shoes would feel right about now. After failure these are common reactions. There was only one problem with that logic, it wasn't a man filling these shoes, it was a machine. Cromatire, Terminator T-888 advanced infiltration model, unit designation CR8265936, wasn't affected by any of these distracting emotions. He was indifferent towards his target John Connor, the man who would one day lead humans to victory against his kind. He had a mission to complete and would take whatever measures necessary to see its completion. If contemporary tactics failed it was time to "think outside the box" as he had heard when in the presence of humans. This was an illogical statement as all thinking occurs in the brain for humans. The brain was not remotely shaped like a box and thinking outside of it is impossible no matter its structure. But like many human statements, what is said is not what is meant. If he couldn't get to his target, he would bring his target to himself.

"Thank you for your time!" Cromartie watched as his "hired muscle" left the room. Seven men, all of whom were tools for his mission. They would aid him in the Termination of John Connor. He turned and stepped onto the balcony overlooking the warehouse floor; it was cluttered with stacked crates and dusty machines. Below the men were selecting their weapons from a rather extensive collection he had acquired the night before. Silently the machine bent down grabbing a coil of think electrical wires and a portable generator in each hand. He had very little time until the Connors arrived and so much to do…

-----

John stood still as he let the water pound against his scalp, the sound was very relaxing. Relaxation was what he needed after the last few hours: Cameron, Cromartie, his mother, it was too much in too short a time span. He was surprised that his mother even agreed, albeit not without a fight but she had agreed none the less. John wasn't sure how to feel about it, yes he wanted to kill that son of a bitch but was he ready? Letting out a sigh John slowly leant forward until his head made contact with the wall. He was going to go after something that's one purpose, one reason for existence, was to see him dead. He had made up his mind, it didn't matter if he was ready, this had to be done, and it was just another stepping stone towards stopping Skynet. Reaching for the shampoo John poured a generous amount into his hands and began working it into what little hair he had. Switching gears he began thinking about Cameron and a smile crept onto his face. She had kissed him…and he had kissed her back! It seemed like a dream but John knew it wasn't everything she had told him was the truth. She had no reason to lie, no need to manipulate him, unless she was still lying…no. It was hard to wrap his head around that fact that a machine and a human could be in love. But she wasn't just a machine, she was so much more and it angered him to no end that he was the only one who saw it.

John was so lost in his own head that he didn't hear the bathroom door open and close. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the presence standing just outside the shower door. It wasn't until a voice broke the tranquil sound of the water that his eyes snapped open.

"John, you should be more aware of your surroundings." John spun towards the voice to see Cameron standing outside the shower. His hands flew to cover himself in an attempt to provide some form of modesty. "I have been present for 4 minutes and 16 seconds"

"What are you doing!" John hissed, embarrassed at being exposed in front of his protector and love interest.

"I wanted to see you" she said taking a step closer to the clouded door and cocking her head at an angle. Her features were distorted by the glass but John could still clearly see her outline.

"Couldn't it have waited till…you know I was out of the shower?" he said. The water was beginning to lose temperature and he was still standing and covering himself best as possible.

"I suppose" Cameron said before quickly opening the door and revealing John. His eyes widened in shock, feeling as though his one protection had been stripped away. He did notice her eyes roam over his body before she ask: "Am I your girlfriend?" The question caught him off guard, her large doe eyes starred at him with what looked like curiosity.

"Well..uhh…yea I guess you are" John managed to stammer while shifting uncomfortably onto his other foot. He saw the large smile spread across her lips and his stomach did flips.

"And you're my boyfriend" It wasn't a question this time. Cameron noticed Johns breathing become faster and he was fidgeting. She looked at his body once more and saw he still covered his reproductive organ. "I have seen you naked before John." She pointed out

"Well yea but we were all naked, on the middle of a freeway…and my mother was there…" John didn't enjoy the mental image he received after recounting the night they had arrived in the future. He looked at Cameron and saw her bright smile transform into a devilish grin.

"You would be more comfortable if I were naked as well?" She said while letting her jacket fall the floor and grasping the hem of her shirt. John gasped in surprise but recovered quickly before she could remove any other articles of clothing.

"NO!" He said a little too quickly as she dropped her head in rejection. "I mean just ehmm…I would…not now. I have a lot on my mind." She nodded her head but still looked disappointed by his rejection as she left the room. _I have a lot on my mind_ what kind of line was that? The truth being that she was the only thing on his mind right now. He was barely able to keep his hormones in check most of the time! What was he supposed to do with Cameron coming on to him? He let out another sigh and began to finish up; at least life was never dull.

-----

Nathan Mayers sat comfortably behind his desk as he finished preparing the last document. In front of him lay a rather thick folder which is where he put the last page before sealing it shut. A quick glance out the window of his small office revealed a setting sun _just about time _he thought. Looking at his wrist watch confirmed that it was 5:47, his client should be arriving soon. Stenciled on the door of his small office, which was nestled in a corner of downtown LA were the words _Nathan Mayers – PI._ Nathan was a Private Investigator and had been ever since he got out of the Seals. He was also extremely good at what he did. He had spent 6 years in the navy as a Seal which benefited him greatly in a line of work where secrecy and stealth were always required. It also gave him access to resources most law enforcement agencies would kill to have. He had contacts in every echelon on the cities government and all the local gangs. His reputation for excellence was well known in LA and it had gotten him contracts from celebrities, CEOs, you name em' and he has probably done a job for em'. But all of that didn't matter anymore, after this latest contact Nathan would be retiring.

He had been contacted by a gentleman who was seeking out a family in the LA area. This was a pretty basic contract for a PI. Locating lost family members or wives who had run with their husbands assets were all common requests. The difference in this case was that Nathans client hadn't requested the usual meet up that occurred at the end of an investigation like this and had requested he dig up everything there was. Something told Nathan that this was a family matter. But he had learned long ago not to ask questions and with the amount of money he was going to be paid the only question on his mind was where he would be retiring. Nathans thoughts were interrupted as a man stepped through the doorway.

"Mr. Ferguson!' Nathan said as he stood and extended his hand towards his client. Their dealings had been strictly on the phone until this point so Nathan took a moment to study the man. He was well built with blond hair and blue eyes. He wore a light blue shirt and a pair of jeans. He had the looks of movie star if it wasn't for his "stone" face. After an awkward moment, almost like the man didn't understand the gesture Mr. Ferguson took his hand, it felt like a vice.

"Do you have the information I requested?" The man dropped his hand and began looking over the room. Nathan shook out his finger in an attempt to get some blood back into them as he moved back towards his desk to grab the folder.

"Yup, its all right here." He leaned over the cluttered workspace and grabbed the folder labeled _Case 263-Ferguson. _I gotta tell you this was a little more work than I had expected but you came to the right man. Everything you asked for is in here: aliases, locations, movement patterns, known accomplices, I even got the kids report cards."Nathan said as he handed over the folder. His client leafed through the documents inside checking for himself that everything was in place.

"Yes they have been difficult in the past" Closing the folder Mr. Ferguson placed in the chair next to him and turned back to face Nathan with a smile. "Thank you for your time!"

"Now about my payment, I have an account th-" He was cut off midsentence as his client extended his hand. Nathan reached out to return the shake slightly confused as this gesture usually followed the completion of business and this deal wasn't over till he got paid. Mr. Ferguson did not shake Nathans hand though; instead he grabbed the PI by the neck and lifted him into the air. An inaudible gurgle escaped his mouth as Nathan reached for his pistol. Left side, under his arm…it wasn't there. His eyes grew large as he saw the H&K sitting on his desk. It was getting harder to breath as his "client" single handedly crushed his windpipe. Looking into the man's eyes he suddenly saw them glow bright red…*CRACK*.

Nathan Mayers fell limply to the ground, his neck broken. Cromartie grabbed the file, turned, and left the office.

-----

…SCANNING…

…System operating at 95% efficacy…

…Chip integrity compromised…

…Emotional restrictions failing - 22% - repair needed – Logic Core Compromised…

…Recommend immediate reboot…

Ignoring the scan Cameron carefully read the information in front of her, committing each piece to her memory banks. On her bed carefully aligned in symmetrical rows were magazines. Some she had read already, some she still needed to look at. Teen Vouge, Seventeen Magazine, etc were all present. Cameron used these as valuable sources for references on how to blend in as a human. The problem was that she often misunderstood what she read and when she attempted to perform a suggested action it was at an inappropriate time or unwelcomed by others. The shower incident earlier in the day was another failed attempted. She slowly closed the magazine revealing the cover: c_osmopolitan w_ith the head line: _10 ways you please your man. _She made note that showering together did not seem to interest John. This magazine was apparently ineffective, its suggestions seemed to cause John to become agitated and nervous, she wanted him to be happy and calm around her.

Looking back down at the title Cameron considered the head line _your man,_ was John hers? She certainly did not own John nor did she believe he could be bought. Still many humans referred to their significant others with implications of ownership. If John was hers was she his? Second John wasn't a man; he was still a teenager, only 16 years old. The question didn't have a logical answer but she knew that he was _her John _and she certainly wouldn't mind being his Cameron. Once again a feeling immense happiness rushed through her neural net,…it felt warm. Whenever Cameron thought of John she felt this way. It was almost euphoric, second only to physical contact with him. As quickly as the feeling had emerged it vanished, replaced with instead with…rage? Since their first kiss John had made no attempts to show any affection towards her or make conversation unless she initiated it. He had said she was his girlfriend though, but why wouldn't he show it? Cameron was suddenly overcome with a desire to punch him, much to her surprise. She forcefully pushed these feelings away attempting to return to her emotionless state. As with her recent attempts it was only partially successful, as the restrictions continued to fail she lost more control over herself. She was unstable at the moment. Standing up Cameron carefully realigned the magazines that had moved from the mattress shifting and left her room. The walk to Johns was short and she covered in seconds, knocking once she opened the door and walked in.

John was sitting at his computer, his head was resting on a balled fist and his eyes were closed. Cameron couldn't help but smile when John was asleep; he looked very content and happy, now she was happy _again_. Taking a few more steps into the room his eyes shot open and he pulled out his pistol, aiming it in her direction. Seeing it was only Cameron he let it drop.

"Ohh my bad, didn't hear you come in." John absent mindedly dropped the berretta back onto the table and swiveled his chair to face Cameron.

"It's good that you're a light sleeper, it makes termination attempts more difficult" Cameron said as she took a seat on the edge of his bed. Her posture was stiff as a board. "How's the search?" Sarah and Derek had left to investigate the weapons shop Cromarite has ravaged, ordering John not to leave the house until they returned. He had been using the time to search the machines location.

"I pulled up the traffic cams and got a license plate but it's probably no good, he would ditch the car right?"

"It's what I would do" she deadpanned. John faced the computer again as he began adjusting the search parameters. Cameron took the opportunity to reach out and run her fingers through his hair. "I am sorry I made you uncomfortable earlier, Cosmopolitan Magazine suggested it as an activity romantic couples should participate in" She withdrew her hand from his hair and looked at it as if something was wrong while blinking back tears. "If I misinterpreted our relationship or you do not find me physically attractive I understand" John suddenly spun around, she sounded close to depression if that was even possible for a machine.

"Cam you are beautiful! And I love you, the shower thing was just… kinda sudden" John took her hands in his and rubbed his finger across her knuckles. It was amazing how small and soft her hands were and scary to think of what they were capable of. "Are you ok?"

"My emotions are unstable; the restrictions have fallen to 22%." Suddenly Cameron pulled her hands back and pointed a finger towards John's chest, the sudden movement shocked him. "You say you love me John Connor but you show me no affection. We do not "cuddle" or kiss or take numerous photos of ourselves together! You haven't even made a asexual advance on me! You are hiding your feelings from your family, are you ashamed of me??" She was actually yelling by the end, it was the first time John had never heard Cameron raise her voice. Her outburst shocked him and he couldn't help but blush at the mention of sex.

"Of course I do Cameron; I want to be able to do those things so badly! Everything I see you I want to pull you into my arms and just hold you there…but I am afraid. Afraid of how Derek and my mom will react, afraid they will try to destroy you!" John rubbed his eye to clear the moisture; he was such a sap sometimes. He brought his hands up and cupped her face, the anger it had held quickly fading away. He ran his thumb over her check and Cameron's eyes fluttered involuntarily. She hadn't meant to yell at John but the feeling that he didn't return her feelings had scarred her. She gently closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "I love you Cam and we will tell them when they are ready to hear it, together"

"I'm sorry I yelled John, my systems are unstable at the moment…"

"Ha it's like you are Bi-polar"

"A mood disorder sometimes called manic-depressive illness or manic-depression that characteristically involves cycles of depression and elation or mania. I do not understand" Cameron said tipping her head slightly while trying to understand Johns meaning. Surely he knew she was incapable of mental disorders.

"I was joking Cam, I just meant that your having mood swings because your emotions are still new." John leaned over and kissed her quickly before going back and shutting his laptop. Changing the subject completely he asked "I need a break, wanna watch a movie?" Cameron face brightened at the suggestion.

"Thank you for explaining, and yes I would like to watch Star Wars again" John chuckled slightly and nodded his head. She had watched the whole series too many times to count but she always claimed it was scientifically "intriguing". Cameron grabbed his hand and pulled him after her towards the living room like two normal teenagers.

Many hours later and four movies into the series John had fallen asleep. In his hurry to spend time with Cameron, John had overlooked the fact that she intended to watch all 6 films in one sitting. Cameron on the other hand sat slightly forward on the couch starring intently at the screen. An audible gasp escaped her mouth as Obi-Wan was killed. It was illogical that he would disintegrate after being killed with a light saber. Maybe it was because she did not understand the weapon full? She made note to study it further and came to the determination that it would be effective in dealing with terminators if such an invention was possible. Cameron looked over at John and saw his head roll to the side as he shifted in his sleep. She reached over and pulled him closer so his head to rest on her shoulder for support. Slowly she began to trace circles on his back. During the films she had drawn many comparisons between Luke Skywalker and her John. Both had been forced into a destiny to save their people when they simply wanted to live their lives. Both had to give up a normal family to become what was necessary. Cameron rested her head on top of Johns and let out a sigh of satisfaction, she was with John and that's all that mattered, she would make sure he was always happy. Cameron did not see that Sarah and Derek were standing in the kitchen watching….

-----

Johns eyes fluttered open as the morning sun blinded him. It took a few moments for him to take in his surroundings. He wasn't where he normally woke up; instead he was lying on the couch. That answers one question but now why was he here instead of his bed? It didn't take long for last night's events to come back to him. He and Cameron had been watching a movie…movies. Apparently if you watch one you have to watch them all with her he concluded. Letting out a pent up yawn John stretched his arms towards the ceiling trying to shake off the sleep. _Where was Cam?_ After straightening out his clothes a little bit he headed for the kitchen with a smile on his face.

When John entered the kitchen he knew something was up immediately. His mom wasn't making any pancakes like she always did; Derek didn't have his morning paper, both of them simply glared at him as he entered the room. Derek's foot was tapping on the floor in a fashion that told John that the resistance fighter had something he wanted to say. John flashed them a sheepish smile wondering what this was about as he took a glass out of the closet.

"I told you Sarah" Derek said in a hushed voice, both eyes bore into Johns back as he poured the juice.

"Told her what?" John casually asked putting the carton back in the fridge as he turned to face his uncle. Something in Derek's face told him he wanted to scream, and that's exactly what he did.

"WHAT THE FUCK JOHN?!" Derek exclaimed as he stood from the table. John's response was a shocked silence, still not understanding what his uncle was talking about. Seeing that his nephew wasn't picking up on the conversation Derek continued. "Do you think I haven't picked up on what you're doing? It's a goddamn machine John!" He had tried to stop this from happening but that metal bitch had John wrapped around her fucking finger. John, finally realizing what this was all about stammered to respond.

"W-what are you talking about?"

"I have seen you with it John, when it was crying. _WE_ saw you two last night. Looked pretty comfy" Derek walked around the table and got into Johns face. "She's going to twist you and turn you against us, it's what they do John! Do you want that?"At this moment Sarah decided to join in on the tag team.

"John you have been getting to close to her, she could go bad again." Sarah didn't want to admit her son had feelings for the machine but the evidence was sitting in front of her.

"Getting to close? She's the only one I can get close to! I have a paranoid mother and a fucking psychotic uncle." John was close to yelling now, they had pushed him into a corner and he was lashing out. "She isn't going to go bad again, Jesus you don't even know anything about her. All you see is a machine."

"All she is, is a machine! John they trick you, they lie to you, they deceive you, and then they kill you!" Derek wanted to hit this kid; his head was as thick as coltan if he couldn't see the truth. "That metal may look like some hot 16 year old but underneath it there's nothing but lights and clockwork." Sarah could see John becoming angry but her son had to realize what he was doing.

"Don't forget what she is John" Hopefully he hadn't and this was a misunderstanding she prayed.

"She's a killer John not some _fucktoy_!" Sarah gasped at Derek's last statement, it shocked both Sarah and John but what followed it was even more surprising. Before he could react Derek was lying on the floor with a red hand print across his face and a few teeth missing. A furious looking Cameron stood over him. She must have come in from the other room.

"Mine and John's relationship, whether platonic or romantic is none of your business Derek Reese. I have never initiated in Sexual activities with John either since you seem so interested" John blushed when she said this and Cameron smiled slightly before returning to her anger towards Derek. Holding out her right hand and closed it into a fist and raised her middle finger. "Fuck you!" Derek looked like he was ready to tear her head off with his bare hands.

"THE HELL IT ISNT MY BUISNESS, I'm not gonna sit here while you fuck with Johns head." Derek got back to his feet and pushed Cameron, she didn't budge. Derek got a smug look on his face. "Let me ask you a question bitch, all this bullshit your showing us…_these emotions_ where were they in the future? Where were they when you killed Allison young and took her fucking face?!?" Derek stood back and watched as his attack unfolded, but not with the desired affects. The machines face suddenly went blank and she stared into the distance. Slowly her hands began to slightly shake and her face once again changed. Her lower lip began to quiver and tears started flowing freely down her cheeks. Cameron turned and ran out of the room followed closely by the sound of a slamming door. This wasn't what Derek had expected at all. John slowly stepped forward looking at both his guardians with a mixture of sympathy and utter disdain.

"…I haven't forgotten what she is. On the contrary I'm the only one who has actually seen what she really is. Both of you are so blinded by hatred you can't see that she's so much more than a terminator." John turned and head towards the stairs but stopped and looked back at them; both seemed to be shell shocked. "By the way…I love her. I think I always have." John jogged up the last few stairs towards Cameron's room. Back in the in the kitchen Sarah and Derek just stood there. A cell phone began to ring jarring them out of the trance. As Sarah walked over to pick it up she looked at Derek.

"Who was Allison Young?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer but asked anyway.

"John's fiancée"

-----

John walked up to Cameron's door and lightly knocked before pushing it open. He couldn't see her inside so he called out her name.

"Cam?" Taking a tentative step he heard a sob come from the corner of the room. Quickly he turned to see Cameron sitting on the floor crying. Her knees had been drawn up to her chest and her arms were wrapped tightly around them. John hurried over to her side and put his arms around her. "Shh it's alright Cam, fuck Derek" She shook him off and stood up walking to the opposite side of the room.

"I'm not like that anymore John I swear, I'm not like that!" She said even though she started crying again. John assumed she was talking about the Allison thing.

"I know you aren't like that. I don't care about what you did while you were a slave to Skynet. You aren't anymore, your just Cameron…my Cameron" Cameron turned around to look at him, her eyes were bloodshot and red and her hair was a little frazzled. She was still beautiful.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what I had done. Derek was right; I'm still just a machine. I'll always be a machine John." Her tone had become very serious; slowly she reached down to her combat book and drew a rather large and scary knife. For his credit John didn't move. "Do you love me John, or do you love what I look like?" With incredible speed she raised the blade and plunged it into her own arm quickly bringing it down to the middle of her forearm.

"CAMERON!" John ran forward and tore the knife from her. She looked back at him as she peeled the synthetic flesh off her arm and raised it to Johns face.

"Lights and-d c..clo—ck" Cameron couldn't finish the sentence as she started to cry again. John put his hands on her shoulders and she fell into him sobbing. This was not the first time they had been in this situation.

"Listen to me Cameron, I love _you." _John said this while tapping the spot where her CPU port was. "Yes you are very beautiful on the outside but it's your personality I love. I don't care that you have a hyper-metal chassis underneath. It's actually pretty cool." John chuckled in an attempt to light the mood. Cameron raised her head and wiped away a few of the tears.

"It's actually a Hyper Alloy Combat Chassis" She corrected, followed by a half laugh half sob. John grabbed her hand and led her over to the bed where he began to silently stitch her arm up with the med-kit she kept in the room. "I love you John" She said and once again rested her head against his. He smiled and kissed her; she reached up and grabbed the back of his head. As his mouth opened she quickly slipped her tongue into it. The magazines were right about some things! John returned the action, both releasing their passion for one another. The moment was interrupted though when Sarah walked into the room causing them to quickly separate

"I uhhh…" It took Sarah a moment to remember why she had come in as she took in the sight in front of her. John was holing Cameron in a very protective embrace and she seemed to be drawing comfort from it. "I need her" John looked at her suspiciously.

"Why"

"I just got a call, we found the Turk, sounds like after Sarkissian it fell into the hands of a Spanish gang. They want 500,000 for it." Cameron looked at Sarah in the same manner John was.

"We don't have 500,000" Slowly she stood up and ran a hand through her hair. "We will have to negotiate" She reached into the back of her pants and pulled out a pistol racking the slide in a single motion. John stood up next to her and slipped his hand into hers while looking at his mother.

"I'm going as well" It was a statement. He wasn't about to leave Cameron alone with the two of them.

-----

The tension is the truck was ridiculously high as it turned down the empty road. No one had said a word since they left the house. They were headed for a warehouse on the other side of L.A. to "acquire" the Turk. The guy said 500,000 was the price, which was something the Connors did not have. Since they didn't have enough money they would be asking kindly with guns as Derek had put it. Over whelming them would be easy with their hidden ace, Cameron. John looked over at her, she was staring intently at him, she flashed a smile. The sound of brakes drew his attention as the truck crawled to a stop in front of what John would call a very sketchy warehouse. All four of them stepped out and Cameron looked at Sarah expectantly.

"They said to meet them inside and they would bring the Turk once we showed them the money, seems pretty straight forward." Systematically they all checked their weapons. Derek hefted and M4-A1 with a red dot sight. Sarah took out a Remington 12-guage. John examined his Berretta with precision, ensuring it was in proper working order. Cameron drew her Glock and stepped towards the building.

"Wait here, I'll be back" John wanted to go with her but realized she would tell him to stay for his own safety so he bit his tongue and stayed put. Cameron walked towards the building scanning the area as she went. Once she reached the doubled doors that served as an entrance a low buzzing sound caused her to pause. Unable to determine its origin she figure it must be coming from inside and quickly and reached to grab the handle. Upon contact a massive electrical surge threw her body 10 feet away. She landed at and awkward angle and lay unmoving.

"Cameron!" John jumped up to sprint to her aid when he was suddenly jerked back by his jacket collar and landed on his ass behind the truck.

"Don't be stupid!" Derek growled through clenched teeth as he fired off his M4-A1 using controlled bursts. John looked from him to his mother and saw they were both firing. In his panic he hadn't heard the gunshots. The previously empty windows of the warehouse flashed with automatic weapons fire that was landing all around them. John looked back and still saw Cameron lying on the ground. He mom screamed for him to stay down but it was too late. John was running on automatic, his years of training kicking in as the adrenaline pumped. The quicker he dealt with this the quicker he could get to Cameron. _Only 120 seconds _he reminded himself. In a fluid motion he drew the Berretta and slammed the safety off. Careful to control his aim John fired round after round into one of the windows until he saw the gunman catch one in the throat. With a awkward cry he dropped out of sight…dead. John hit the magazine release and slid a fresh one in. Tapping Derek on the shoulder John pointed towards a large pile of tubing indicating that Derek move for a better position. He nodded and John opened up the building in unison with his mom drawing the attention of their attackers.

Derek sprinted towards the cover, hitting the ground as soon as he reached it. He took a second to steady himself before peaking over the wall of cover. Not more than 10 feet away in a window stood a rather large man reloading a shotgun. Derek brought his M4 to bear and whistled. The man was so surprise to see Derek this close to the building he dropped one of his shells in shock. He took the opportunity and put a bullet through the man's forehead. Derek continued scanning for targets and his eye locked on a man standing in the door way firing at the truck. Derek squeezed off three rounds into the man's chest and was horrified when he barley stumbled.

"JOHN, SARAH WE GOT METAL!" Derek screamed as he unloaded the remainder of the magazine at this new threat. It did little as the Terminator changed its focus and advanced towards him raising a rather beefy looking pistol, aiming it at Derek's head. He tripped over a rock and fell onto his back, helpless. Derek heard the shot but didn't feel it, that's because a piece of concrete hit the machine first. Suddenly Derek was aware of hands on his shoulder. He was being dragged towards the car and was shocked to see a beaten and dirty looking Cameron pulling him.

"It's Cromartie" She stated while pulling one of the shotguns out of the car. Cameron looked over at John to ensure he was still safe. He gave her a thumbs up before he continued firing his weapon. "This was a trap"

"Yea no shit" Derek reached onto the passenger seat and quickly grabbed his USP before the bulled impacted on the seat. The truck was taking one hell of a beating. They wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. Cameron quickly moved to engage Cromartie with the shotgun. John and Sarah dropped back behind cover and began reloading as their attackers renewed the assault. It wasn't as powerful; they had lost a few men. Derek counted 5 still standing plus that piece of trash as he popped back up firing once again.

-----

John and his mom had been putting an endless amount of fire on the building but these assholes were dug in. John watched as someone fell from the roof screaming in pain, the ground abruptly silenced him. So far this was going pre---

"Mom!" John spun wildly towards his mother as she fell to the ground clutching her arm. He could see blood leaking through her finders. Gently he pulled her hands away to examine the wound.

"I'm fine, it was just a graze." It may have just been a graze but it had still managed to take a decent amount of meat off her arm. Derek let lose another burst which caught one of the fatter men in the chest before he could move. He leaned over towards the Connors.

"Can you still shoot?" It was sort of blunt but they didn't have time to mess around, there were still three more shooters.

"Yea…yea I'm fine" Sarah wrapped he shirt around the wound and pulled it tight with her teeth. John looked at her with uneasiness. Picking up the fallen weapon she nodded at Derek. John peeked around the truck for a new target. That had been close, his mom had been shot! John's eyes hardened as he saw a man with an AK-74 sneaking slowly around the rubble near the building. He had been the one who shot his mother; he was the only one with the angle. John quickly rolled forward, hatred clouding his judgment as he moved to flank the bastard.

"John!" Sarah moved to grab her son but she was forced down by another salvo from one of the windows. She couldn't reach him. Keeping his head down John quietly moved towards the man. Not far away a shotgun barked multiple times. He smiled at the thought of Cameron kicking Cromarites ass and glad she was back up. His lack in focus, even if only for a moment cost him. As John rounded a piece of debris his gun was suddenly knocked away. Quickly John brought up his hands Ready for a fight. Grabbing the man's wrists he similarly disarmed his opponent. Not allowing the man a chance to recover he followed up with a vicious right hook. The man stumbled back but regained his balance and charged John. There was nowhere move, no way to evade the attack in such a cramped area. The air exploded out of his lungs as John doubled over from the hit. The man brought his fist down on John's shoulder like a sledge hammer. The force of the hit sent John to the ground as he heard a distinct pop from his shoulder blade. Biting his lip forced the pain to the back of his mind and quickly rolled away to avoid further punishment. John snapped out his right leg and caught the man knocking him over as well. Not to be outdone he retaliated by pushing himself on top of John and mercilessly landing hit after hit on his face. John knew this wasn't going to end well; he couldn't force the larger body off of him. Desperately his finger clawed the ground searching for anything to use as a weapon. His hand found purchase on the grip of the Berretta. Quickly as he could John brought the weapon to his assailants head. The man clearly wasn't expecting this from the look on his face and with gritted teeth john pulled the trigger three times. He watched as brain matter and blood exploded from the head and the body limply rolled over.

John could hardly breathe; he had just viciously murdered a man. But it had been self defense, and he was protecting his family. That justified it right? On shaky legs John stood up but it only lasted for a moment. Before he could even move a mind numbing pain ripped through his already beaten body, he heard someone scream and the next thing he was the ground.

Cameron felt the bullets impact her chest and saw the signs flash across her HUD warming that her epidermal layer had been compromised. Ignoring the messages she pumped the shotgun again and fired another slug towards Cromarties chest. He was visibly moved by the impact and Cameron closed the distance. Chambering another shell she fired again. The majority of Cromarties chest had been exposed along with half of his face after four blasts from her weapon. As she made to fire again the terminator grabbed onto the barrel of the gun and twisted it, causing the shot went wide. Cameron attempted to pull back but Cromarite held her in place. He shoved the gun into her chest locking her arms in place. She tried to push him back but he had the advantage now. Almost effortlessly his left leg flew out and connected with her side. She tilted ever so slightly but it was enough and he used it to throw her into the truck. The force of the throw sent her body through the hood of the truck and into the engine block. The impact that would have killed a human barley fazed her and she pushed herself up. Her arm was caught, twisted in the metal and it held her in place. It took her a moment to grab the fram with her free hand and rip the sheet metal back to free herself. Grabbing the shotgun off the ground she looked for Cromarite. Where had he gone? A quick scan of the battle revealed the machine standing 20 meters from his last know location. He had his pistol razed and Cameron follow his line of sight…John. A few rounds from Derek hit the machine in the side jarring its aim. It did not stop the Terminator though and the weapon fired twice and she watched as the heavy rounds sped towards their target. The first ripping through John's right thigh and the second connected with his opposite shoulder. The impact sent him spinning like a top in to the ground.

"JOHN!!!!" Cameron and Sarah screamed together, surprisingly Cameron's vice rang louder.

…Chip integrity compromised…

…Emotional restriction failure -0% - repair needed – Logic Core Compromised…

…Warning shutdown immanent …

…60…59…58…57…

Cameron jumped into action, sprinting forward towards Cromarite continuously firing until the shotgun *clicked* empty. She was three feet from her target when she swung the empty gun like a bat impacting the back of his head. She followed quickly by relentlessly punching the area containing the machines CPU port. Cromarite responded by grabbing her arm but was quickly caught by a hay maker in the neck knocking him to the ground.

…29…28…27…

Cameron brought her foot down but the triple eight deftly rolled away only to be caught by a kick in the side. He slammed into the side of the warehouse almost going through the wall. Rushing forward she drew out the knife she had used earlier to cut herself and grabbed the machine before it could right itself. Upon contact she drove the blade through its right eye and punched it deeper into the coltan skull. Tears were rolling down her face as she assaulted her enemy in absolute hatred for taken the most precious thing in her existence. She continued to punch him even after she had broken through the CPU. She continued punching even after she had obliterated its chip. She continued until her world suddenly went black and she slumped forward unceremoniously onto Cromarites inert body.

…3…2…1…0…

….Initiating System Shutdown…

-----

Derek and Sarah stood up simultaneously and fired at their targets until both their weapons were empty.

"John!" Sarah took off running towards her son as the two remaining attackers dropped dead under the hail of combined gunfire. Derek followed closely behind her praying John wasn't dead, that he hadn't lost another family member. When they reached him he was slowly crawling towards them, his clothes soaked in blood. Sarah dropped to her knees next to him letting out a chocked sob. He gave them a grin revealing his bloody teeth.

"I guess…this..is what it feels like…to get shot" He said clearly in pain. Derek ran towards the warehouse leaving Sarah with her son. He cursed as he rounded the warehouse. _Where the fuck is it?_ He was looking for the vehicle those assholes had to of arrived in. He question was answered when he saw a grey van sitting on the side of the road. Derek ran to it and yanked the door open. He didn't bother looking for keys, kicking the bottom of the steering column instead, revealing a mess of wires. He expertly grabbed two and after a quick spark tied them together. Throwing the van into reverse he sped towards John and Sarah. As soon as he got close enough Derek slammed on the breaks and jumped out leaving the engine running. He threw the back doors open and slid some miscellaneous gear away.

"Help me get him in!" Derek shouted as he grabbed John's shoulders. Sarah picked up his feet and they lifted him into the back of the van. John let out a grabbled cry of pain when they did so. Sarah jumped in the back and began looking for a medical kit. Derek couldn't help but notice the amount of blood on the ground as he got back in the driver's seat. Putting the van in drive he sped towards the road. But he stopped when John called out.

"D-Derek…wait for Cam…she will be here soon…" John rolled his head trying to look for his protector.

"She's out of the game, there's no time we have to leave John." John groaned as Sarah tied a tourniquet around his leg. She was mumbling incoherently as she tried to keep her son from bleeding out in the back of a van. John's voice was barley a whisper now and Derek almost didn't hear it.

"P-please…120 se-e..conds" he said as his head dropped to the floor, unconscious from blood lose. Derek glanced in the mirror and saw both of the machines still lying on the ground.

The 120 second marker had passed three minutes ago.


	5. Update

OK guys its been a long time and in all honesty I forgot about writing this story and leaving you all hanging and for that im sorry. Good news if anyone is still interested, I will be finishing the story! I know it has been a long time and for that I apologize but keep an eye out for the next and last chapter it should be out in the foloowing days.


	6. In The End

**Ok guys here it is, the final chapter and conclusion to Cameron's Growth. I want to thank all of for reading and reviewing, putting up with my horrible grammar and spelling. And of course the general lack of an ending for a while. I am immensely sorry for this and there is no excuse. I simply hope you enjoy the story. Goodbye.**

/

It was another beautiful day in Los Angeles, somewhere around 80 degrees and sunny. The city of angels, John thought to himself, as he walked briskly down the sidewalk toward his place of employment. John tried to walk almost everyday since he only lived a few blocks away. To the average bystander John looked like a mechanic, dressed in blue pants with a blue button up on, unsightly dirt and grease marks marred the pants and shirt. Above his right breast the words were sewn and over his shoulder John carried a duffel with a spare change of clothes. Regardless of the attire John was not a mechanic and as he rounded the corner onto Colorado Boulevard and entered a large garage door it became readily apparent what his profession was. Above the bay door were the words: Los Angeles Fire Department.

"Johnny boy there you are! Where have you been, I got here at seven." Charlie called out as he propped his broom against engine 117 and embraced Conner with a laugh. Charlie Dixon had been on the department a year longer then John. He was a great friend and always had your back. All the guys at the station were great but Charlie and John had a special bond and had hit it off from the start.

"Come on Chuck im only five minutes late, it was a nice day I was enjoying the air!" John chastised with a grin on his face. Looking over his shoulder John called out "I better see you tomorrow at the BBQ." Charlie made an O.K. Sign with his hand and continued with his duties. Heading for the stairs in the back John quickly hopped up them and put his things away in the dormitory. The firehouse was a buzz of activity, Jackson was reading the morning paper while Guzzi cooked up something in the kitchen. Most likely breakfast for the crew. No one could top that man in the kitchen, they often joked that he entered the wrong profession. Meanwhile Andrew and Matt watched the news waiting hungrily for their meals. Looking out the window above the bay and into the horizon of LA John couldn't help but smile. This was his home and he was glad to be protecting it.

"Hey Connor, don't let me see anymore of that five minute late BS. Got me?" Breaking the buzz of the firehouse came Chief Coopers voice.

"Won't happen again Chief!" replied John while the others simply laughed. John returned his gaze to the window while someone threw a folded newspaper at him and continued laughing. _Today is starting off great._ Sadly this was the end of that.

/

The overhead lights snapped alive and the gong rang over and over again for what felt like the hundredth time that day. The firehouse had been busy that day with two MVAs, a building rescue, a police assist, and a few false alarms. Once again the bell was jarring John Connor from the sleep he sought, but this was his life. John quickly rolled out of bed pulling on his pants and hurrying from the room with his fellow firefighters. A quick glance at the clock told him it was 12:21, the ten minutes of sleep that he had gotten should do.

"Station 47 Los Angeles fire, respond to 389 Lockfield Rd for the reported structure fire with possible entrapment. Time of call 2421 hours, repeating"

Within a minute John was in the bay and had his bunkers on. He wasted no time, quickly he hoped in the officers seat and saw that the engine was ready to go and they pulled out after the chief car. John pulled up the location of the call on the mobile terminal and picked up the radio.

"Engine 117 is in service for a reported structure fire at 389 Lockfield Rd" The sight of smoke on the horizon was soon visible

"Everyone tag in, lets go we have a worker on our hands!" Guzzi was their driver, the back seat was occupied by Charlie, Jackson, and Andrew and all shared the same look of determined focus. Within minutes they had arrived on scene to see flames shooting out of the roof. Many people had asked him why he did this, why run into a burning building when everyone else is running out? Because John always felt he had a higher calling and this was how he answered it.

"Cheif Cooper arriving on scene, two story structure, wood frame construction, fire and smoking showing from second floor windows. Confirmed occupant trapped on second floor." The chiefs voice came over the radio and John was already in action as the engine rolled to a stop next to the house.

"Charlie on me we are going in. Andrew hook to that hydrant, I want water flowing ten minutes ago! Jackson wait for assistance and get to the roof, don't let us bake in their!" John yelled as he grabbed a set of tools and went to the front door with Charlie at his back. They turned their lights on and masked up, ready to do their job. By this time the fire was already ripping across the ceiling and conditions were rapidly worsening. Quickly they searched three of the four rooms on the second floor which returned negative, carefully they approached the last door..

It was another bedroom, clearly occupied by a female. Judging by the other rooms this must be the daughters room. Before he had even taken two steps within the room his flashlights beam fell upon a girl curled in the corner. She was shockingly beautiful, long brown locks and gorgeous brown eyes to match. She had a look of innocent curiosity about her and this was all John could think, even in such a hostile environment and with soot covering her face and hair. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes upon. Regaining his sense John radioed in.

"503 to command, victim located on the second floor." She was covering her mouth with the bed comforter to try and stop the smoke and coughing as she saw the firefighters. Her eyes were wild with fear but still held that curiosity John had seen. Slowly he extended his hand towards her and advanced into the room...

-**CRACK-**

And just as suddenly as he extended his arm the fire in the ceiling finally ate away at the support and the roof came crashing down upon her, burying her in a pile of rubble and flames. John heard a scream and didn't realize it was coming from himself, he tried to crawl forward and it took all of Charlies strength to hold his friend in place. John couldn't comprehend how she had been there a second ago and now was gone, he didn't understand why he suddenly felt like he had failed but all he could hear was that scream and see her terrified face.

"MAYDAY MAYDAY firefighters need assistance on the second floor!" Charlie called over the radio as he pulled Johns struggling form from the room.

/

-HONK!-

John shook his head and hit the gas, accelerating through the intersection. He threw his hand up in a sign of annoyance with the other driver. He had been so caught up he didn't notice the traffic signal had changed and a line of cars began piling up behind him. After a few blocks John made the left onto his street and slowly pulled into his driveway. He had been distracted all day, he couldn't get the image of that poor girl out of his head. John didn't know why but he felt like there was this unexplainable connection. Almost as if he knew her from somewhere which was ridiculous because he had never seen her before. Everyone saw death in this line of work, it came with the territory. This was nothing new to Connor, but something was different about this one.

John reached over the center console and grabbed the bag of meat and rolls he had just purchased. Stepping out of the dark blue F150 he hefted the bag, hopefully he had bought enough for everyone god knows Derek can eat. Walking to the side of the house John pushed open the gate to the backyard, he would need to oil it soon the squeak was rather annoying. As he and strolled in placing the bag of food on the patio table, John went through the back door to wash up and get what he would need to grill. The house was a modest single bedroom ranch that John had bough last august as his first home. He had worked hard on it and it showed. His most recent addition being the fence around the backyard.

A few minutes later stepping back outside John was greeted by the smiling face of Charlie as he sipped on a beer out of the small refrigerator kept on the patio. John thought he had heard the gate open while he was inside.

"They cold enough?" John questioned as he walked over to the grill and turned it on. Charlies appearance wasn't surprising, that man was here so often John questioned whether he had a home of his own! John sliced open the package of beef, carelessly cutting his finger in the process. He stealthily wiped the blood with a rag sitting next to the grill and began to season the burgers. Charlie turned the can of Coors around in his hand and looked up at his friend.

"As cold as the Rockies" he replied. Taking another gulp, he studied John at the grill. Last night had been rough and it looked like John was still feeling it. Leaning forward in his seat and putting down the beer, Charlie addressed his friend. "Hey John" John turned towards him, his eyes not really focused on anything. "Look, everyone loses somebody, it can be tough. I have seen guys leave the job because of it. If you need someone to talk to im right here" Charlie said with genuine concern. John stared at him for a moment as if he was going to say something, but simply dismissed the remark with a smile.

"Im fine Chuck, really" and at that moment Sarah Reese rounded the corner followed closely by her husband Derek, the perfect distraction. She had remarried after Johns father had been killed in the line of duty. He had been a police officer for the the city of Los Angeles. After his death Derek had become a big part of their life and eventually the wedding bells were ringing.

"John" Sarah exclaimed with a beaming smile and kissed her son on the cheek. Wearing a bright green sundress Sarah was dressed for a day of fun in the sun.

"Haha its good to see you too mom" John returned the gesture and flipped a few of the burgers over and began placing slices of cheese on them. "Derek beers are in the fridge, help yourself" John called over his shoulder.

"Don't mind if I do" Derek said as he opened a fresh can and shook Charlies hand, taking a seat at the table. There arrival was perfect timing as the burgers were just about done.

"How many do you want Derek?" John asked sliding some burgers into their waiting buns.

"Two or three should be a good starter, right guys?" Derek laughed deeply and John found himself laughing as well. His family and best friend were having a good time and so was he. His mind finally freed from those terrible thoughts. With tongs in one hand and a plate of burgers in his other, John turned to bring his companions food. _The only thing missing is a kiss the cook apron_ John thought to himself as he brought the food to the table. It was just as he placed the food down that he realized something was amiss.

It all happened so fast that there was no time to really react. The first thing John notice was that something was wrong with Charlie, he wasn't moving. A can of beer resting on his lips and his body leaning forward but frozen in place. Quickly looking to his mother for aid John got another shock. His mother was clutching her arm as blood seeped through her fingers.

"Jesus mom are you alright!" Forgetting momentarily about Charlie, John rushed to his mothers side. This was all wrong and his mind was racing a mile a minute trying to piece things together. "Derek don't just sit there do something!" John said through gritted teeth. John took a second to take in his mothers appearance and instead of the bright sun dress she had been wearing, she had on jeans and a green army jacket, blood covering one sleeve.

"Get your head in the fucking game John" Came Derek's response and a glance in his direction revealed a similar change of attire with the addition of a Beretta in his hand. John backed up unsure of what to do and not understanding his situation.

"What?" was the only response John could muster. Unexpectedly the tell tale squeak of the gate could be heard and Johns eyes shot towards the side of the house. What he saw stole his breathe away. Standing at the side of his house was the girl from last night, her body charred and burnt, the skin literally peeling away. More shocking was the sight of metal underneath that skin, all the while her face remaining innocent. It was a scene straight from his nightmares.

"No...no what the hell is happening here!" John exclaimed as he stood up and pointed his finger towards the girl. He was shaking like a leaf and unsure of what to do he clutched the tongs as a weapon ready to beat back this demon. Before he could do much else his eyes traveled to the sight behind the girl. Standing there behind her was a larger muscular man with blond hair and blues eyes. On his face was a fake grin and in his hand was a pistol, currently pointed at Johns chest. With no hesitation the pistol barked twice and John suddenly felt as if someone had lit his shoulder and leg on fire. That's when his whole world went black.

/

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING DEREK HE NEEDS A HOSPITAL!" came Sarah s irate voice from the back of the van. She had been trying to stop Johns bleeding when the van had lurched into motion. The vehicle reversed towards the warehouse entrance, coming to an abrupt stop only a few feet from the large doors.

"We can't leave the body's here!" Derek yelled as he gripped the limp form of Cameron and began to half carry half drag her towards the van. He had carried a lot of wounded soldiers before and it always seemed like it was harder when they were unconscious, but trying to carry a terminator was nearly impossible. After some difficulty he reached the vans sliding door which opened to reveal a disheveled Sarah and a lot more blood then Derek was expecting. Quickly pushing the sight to the back of his mind he rested Cameron's back against the edge. Derek grabbed onto her legs, signaling Sarah to do the same with her shoulders, together they lifted the body over the lip of the van and into the back. With a grunt Derek returned and grabbed the second one, repeating the process again. He couldn't help but notice the head, or lack there of before hopping behind the steering wheel and getting the hell out of dodge.

"Lets go, the closest hospital is down I-85" said Sarah as she fumbled with a piece of cloth. Her hands were slick with John blood and she was barley keeping it together. She had prepared herself for this day, with Skynet chasing you everyday, someone is bound to get hurt and one day it had to be John. Still, nothing truly prepares a mother to watch her child dying. Derek looked over the seat and simply tightened his grip on the wheel.

"Hospitals mean cops we..." Derek didn't get a chance to finish before Sarah cut him off again.

"I don't give a shit Reese, my son is dying!" She said as tears began to well in her eyes. Sarah wasn't thinking straight but who could blame her. She knew that hospitals reported gun shot wound victims to the police immediately and that they were wanted felons. The police would have them in custody before she could get John out of there. It didn't matter right now.

"And im not gonna let my nephew die! Get Charlie on the line and tell him to meet us at the house. Let him know the situation and to bring everything he will need." Derek Reese was a hardened veteran in the war against Skynet and had seen more death then anyone ever should. He had lost many a friend and his whole family to the machines, nothing was taking John away from him as well. Derek flew on to the entrance ramp, weaving to avoid a collision with another car. With that the van sped down the highway towards the Connors home.

/

Charlie Dixon wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a long breath. He had managed to stop the bleeding and remove the bullet from Johns leg, the shoulder wound had been clean through. Regardless the kid wasn't out of the woods yet. The bullet in his leg had broken the bone on impact so Charlie would have to fashion some sort of brace to immobilize it and if John didn't get a transfusion soon the leg would be the least of his worries. Picking up his bag he removed a few choice supplies and got back to work. First he used a strong antibiotic to clean the areas around the entry and exit wounds to hopefully prevent infection. He had drifted in and out of consciousness a few times, never making any sense and mumbling about 120 hours and a fire, at least that's what he had heard. Still, when he poured the lotion on his wounds all John did was grunt. Usually patients were yelling in pain. It was braking Charlies heart to see John in this state, but right now all that the man could do was try and help him get better. Picking up a roll of bandage and some adhesive Charlie expertly wrapped the wounds, unfortunately he had nothing to brace Johns leg with.

Charlie knew this whole thing would end up getting John hurt and he loved that kid like his own son. Admittedly he didn't understand the entire situation but he knew enough to know that things were bad and that they would only get worse. Still, looking at the condition John was in, he couldn't understand how he had been given all this responsibility and at such a young age. This kid just wanted to have a normal life. Pushing him self away from the bed Charlie left to the room and headed into the kitchen. Sarah was sitting at the kitchen table, her head in her hands. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying but she had stopped now.

"Hey...its not as bad as it looks, Johnny's gonna be fine." Charlie said as convincingly as he could, trying to ease the women s worry. They both knew what the situation was, this was one of the worst injuries any of them had sustained in the battle against Skynet. It was even worse then when Charlie had to come after Derek had been shot. Still he couldn't just sit there and say nothing.

"I have been running it over in my head a hundred times and if I had only been a second faster I could have stopped him. Or maybe I should have followed him and it would have been me who was shot. I should..." Charlie gently put a hand on her shoulder to stop the ramble.

"Sarah there was nothing you could do, just be glad its not worse." The EMT said as he stood and poured another cup of coffee for her. From the stories he had heard there was nothing any one of them could have done to stop that thing. Returning to the table, he placed the cup in front of her and continued. Looking out the window he made a mental note of the wood pile outside. It might make the brace he would need for Johns leg, "Look Sarah, Johns going to need a transfusion of blood, he lost a lot of it. I was able to stop the bleeding but his body won't be able to produce enough of it to keep him alive." Sarah simply looked up from her cup and spoke a single name.

/

Derek lit the flare and held it over the endoskeleton in its concert tomb, the garage was dark and the light from the flare cast an eerie appearance on the metal corpse. In the corner were multiple bags containing the skin. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time and allowed himself a small smile as he dropped the torch. That toaster had caused them all enough trouble. The termite powder ignited almost instantly and began to burn away the body. _Fucking metal_ he thought as he walked out of the garage and towards their "borrowed" van. Once they had gotten back Derek had help Charlie bring John inside, but then busied himself with other tasks to keep him mind occupied. The thought of his nephew dying in there was simply something he didn't want to think about.

As Derek approached the open back of the van he let out a low sigh. Laying in somewhat of a ball was the innate body of Johns metal guardian, Cameron. He had gone back for her even when logic had told him to scrap her. Everything he ever learned about these things, their very nature, told him to burn the body and be done with it. For all he knew she could come back online and kill them all. Still Derek couldn't bring himself to leave or let alone burn her. He convinced himself he couldn't leave the body in case someone got a hold of it, but he had no reason keeping him from burning her. Perhaps he was going soft or maybe its because, whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had seen the changes in her.

The female terminator looked like hell, her clothes were ripped and the skin around her chest was riddled with bullet holes. Half her face was too bloodied up to recognize and the skin on her hands was all but torn away. He had watched her attack Cromartie after John was shot, in all his years in the future he had never seen a terminator act that way. She attacked with what he would call reckless abandon and continued even after the machine was bested. Derek sighed again, for now he would do nothing, she would give John something to fight for. Placing his hands on his head Derek turned towards the house to see Charlie and Sarah walk out. Sarah's eyes darted to the garage and Derek simply nodded.

"Time to return the favor" Charlie said and with that Derek rolled up his sleeve and followed them back into the house.

/ **27 hours later **/

John struggled to open his eyes for the first time in over thirty hours. The first thing he saw light as intense as the sun, clouding his vision. Where ever he was, it was too bright and he quickly shut his eyes to shield them from this new assault. Giving his eyes a few minutes to adjust he reopened them with new results. Taking in his surroundings John instantly recognized their home. His body lay in the living room on a mattress that must have been brought from upstairs. No one was around which struck him as odd but faint noises could be heard in the kitchen, most likely Sarah was in there as the smell of something burning had wafted into the room.

Glancing to his right John noticed an IV in his arm. The bag was half empty and had been hung from a lamp with a bent clothes hanger. Johns left shoulder had a large square bandage covering it, shaded slightly red as the blood seeped into the material. His right leg was completely wrapped and on both sides secured in place by what appeared to be chopped wood. Along with this small cuts and bruising covered his body. John looked away from the mess that was his body and his mind began to recognize the soreness in his muscles resulting in a small groan. At that moment a perfect distraction came into the living room.

"John, your up." Said the hushed voice of Charlie. The EMT quickly moved to Johns bedside and began to take the boys pulse. "Had us a little worried back there."

John simply coughed and looked Charlie in the yes, oddly he had a flashback of Charlie sweeping the floors in some sort of garage, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. "How long have I been out for?" asked Connor as he squeezed his fists into balls and heard the knuckles cracking.

Charlies finished taking Johns blood pressure and began checking his wounds before his responded. "Going on two days now Johnny, you had us all worried for a bit. Good thing you have a blood donor who owes you a favor" Charlie finished with a smile. As the EMT continued checking on his handy work John used the opportunity to look around the room. Bloody bandages were strewn across the floor and a needle and tube lay on the couch next to his mattress. It was just than that the familiar noise of the floorboards squeaking resonated through the room and John looked up to his mother standing in the doorway.

"That was the stupidest thing you have ever done!" She cried and rushed to her sons side. Here eyes, still red and bloodshot, held a well of unshed tears that began to run as she reached out to hug him. A small coughing fit caused her to recoil as Charlie chastised her.

"Careful! He may be conscious but he needs time to relax!" Sarah simply smiled and nodded looking at her son and thanking the powers that be for his safety. If he ever pulled a stunt like that again she would kill him herself she silently vowed before wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and standing.

"I have just the thing for you!" She exclaimed and began to move towards the kitchen. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together and realize she had made pancakes, but John didn't care. He was surprisingly hungry and even the aroma of burnt food was making his salivate. Still something bigger was on the for front of his mind and he called out as loud as he could before Sarah reached the kitchens threshold.

"Wheres Cameron mom?" He asked before coughing again. He saw his mother look back with a hurt expression and simply shake her head. She began to speak but stopped when she could form the words. How could she tell her son that his protector was gone. Mustering the courage that the truth was always better she began.

"John...I'm sorry, but after you were shot something just changed in her...she sacrificed herself to destroy Cromartie." The silence that followed was anything but comfortable. The look on her sons face nearly broke her heart right there and she knew he was trying to grasp what she has said. Just as he was about to speak another voice interrupted him.

"Well...Thats not quite true" came the stony voice of Derek Reese.

/

...REBOOT INITILIZED...

...INFILITRATION SUBROUTINES ACTIVATED...

...INFLITRATION SUBROUTINES INOPERABLE...

...SCANNING...

...System operating at 99% efficacy...

…Chip Integrity Unknown...

...Emotional Restrictions Compromised...

...Primary Objective...Negative...

With a flutter of her eyelids the world came back to life around her inert body. Cameron didn't move her limbs though her CPU told her she had complete motor functions, instead she just lay there for a moment. Something was...different now, she was different now and Cameron didn't understand why. The world seemed just a little brighter, a litter more vibrant and alive. New sensations she had never experienced before began to flood her CPU at an alarming rate threatening another system wide shut down. The wind, the sights, the smells were all to much for her to process, they each had an alarmingly new amount of information to interrupt, but more importantly she was _feeling_ things she never had before. Suddenly her entire HUD shut down with no warning...and it did not return.

Cameron waited and nothing happened, no digital overlay filled her vision, no display readings or anything she waited for. She simply saw the world as it was and nothing else for the first time since she had ben built. Slowly, the cyborg rose to a seated position and began flexing her ligaments. The skin on her knuckles had already began to heal and thats when she began to remember. The fight, Cromartie, the last few seconds before her world went black. Unbeknownst to her, those beautiful brown eyes began to release the tears that had began to build up. Cameron put her hands down to stabilize her unsteady body when she suddenly lost her grip and fell. Shakily she looked at the dark red liquid that had allowed her momentary lose of balance and she scream. JOHN, where was his body, where was anybody? The cyborg shot out of the van they had used to get to the warehouse, where she she had been left, and ran into the house with inhuman like speed. She had to look for John...she needed to find him.

/

"no...no...I don't believe it, I saw her." John croaked, his voice hoarse with emotion as he blinked back tears. He had seen her, she had been fine! HE wouldn't believe it until he saw her, he couldn't believe it. The mere thought alone would break him. As if a dam had broken from the message his mother had given, Johns tears began to fall. Every moment he had spent with her, everything he had taught her, everything they shared was gone and he couldn't accept that.

Sarah turned her face towards the ground, seeing her son like this: his body broken along with his emotion. Every adult in the room realized that things would be different now, John would be different now. There thoughts were broken by the sound of the backdoor being slammed open. Everyone looked towards the kitchen as a distraught Cameron ran into the room, franticly she took in the scene before her.

"John..." Cameron whispered so low almost no one heard it.

"Cameron!" John cried. He half sobbed half laughed as she rushed towards him and dropped to her knees. Both stared longly into each others eyes. The feeling was incomparable to anything Cameron could reference.

"I thought you were gone...I was scarred" the cyborg tentatively admitted as she gently cupped his face as if he were made of china. John simply put his hand behind her head and drew the love of his life in for a kiss. It said everything that they couldn't.

"I think we should give these two some time" Charlie said followed closely with a false cough. Slowly he stood and moved towards Sarah, gently taking her arm to lead her away. The mother of the future general found herself glad at the scene she was now witnessing. Her son would be ok and he was genuinely happy for maybe the first time ever. Sarah was surprised to find that she was also glad Cameron was OK, beside a few minor details here and there. Slowly they turned and headed for the kitchen.

Derek was left standing at the door with a disgruntled look on his face. Regardless, as soon at the others had passed him his frown changed to a smirk. Maybe John would change the future after all, perhaps things could be different. Derek didn't know the answers to these questions but at least one machine would be ok in his book and that was start. The elder Reese's smirk grew into a smile and he left to join the other in the kitchen, leaving his nephew and the mach...Cameron to their business.

Fin


	7. A new tale?

Im considering writing a new story. The plot I have decided on is an AU set after the final episode of the series. John will be returning to the present time with new company and a very new personality. So a few questions that you guys can answer in the reviews or a direct message.

-Should I do it?

-Would anyone like to be my beta if I do?


End file.
